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Comment by georgeburdell | Hacker News Reader

This is one of my favorite interview questions. I embed the issue in a short block of code, run it, and ask the candidate to explain the what, why, and how to fix. I work in a field with physical measurements. Maybe 1/3 of candidates get it correct

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What do you gain from asking this question in an interview? Let's be honest, you've spotted it online and used it to show that you have a higher understanding. If I had an interviewer ask me this it would be a massive red flag. You are interviewing a candidate - it isn't the place to recycle someone else's online answer to flex

No, we’ve actually had this issue in production. I did not “spot it online”. The question I ask is framed how the bug appeared for us at the time. It’s a great way to screen out people who are too academic and do not consider the limitations of the systems they use.

You asked an issue that _you_ faced in prod, you have the benefit of hindsight.

I'm assuming that you are interviewing candidates where this bug is not common.

This isn't a competition. They aren't in a classroom where the professor is asking a trick question. This person wants to hire someone who can spot the bug, understand it, and propose solutions.

Who cares if the candidate comes from a field where this isn't common? That's the point. You want to hire people who would know what to do if they came across it.

It's amazing the amount of hostility here towards a perfectly sensible interview question and process.

> If I had an interviewer ask me this it would be a massive red flag.

Do you work in a field involving physical measurements like OP does?

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