Funnily enough, I've heard the same thing from some friends who worked at companies with algorithmic interviews.
> You end up needing more stringent certifications than exist in comp sci land
That sounds great. You just have to study up and take a very hard exam at the beginning of your career instead of having to study up and take a hard exam every few years.
> You get proof of prior work
And what about Github? Most employers want to see proof of prior work unless you've got a very good excuse.
> You rely heavily on recommendations, with all the pros and cons there
This may be the only decent argument against the accounting/engineering/medicine interview. Even with good performance, recommendations are a crap shoot (did you get along well w/your boss, are they pissed you're leaving, do they refuse to give out references to anyone like one contract employer I worked for for a year a long time ago).
But then again, puzzle interviews are also a crap shoot.