Implied but not explicitly stated in the post is the idea that these interviews are mainly about solving puzzles given during interviews.

How depressing. A big part of software development is knowing how to get things done with people you don't agree with or like. A good chunk of the rest is about communication. You know, organizing thoughts into something coherent and actionable, speaking, writing, and most of all listening.

Is big tech hiring that broken that a person's past history of shipping quality software under severe business constraints matters so little?

Or is it perhaps that too few people at large tech companies are capable of evaluating candidates on any other basis than cooked-up on-the-spot brain teasers?