If you're hiring, how do you find good developers? It's a perennial problem, and no one seems to have a surefire solution.
Aptitude testing is one method that's been gaining traction lately, albeit with a twist. Forget simple coding quizzes; these days, the kookier the question, the better. Mind you, what employers hope to achieve is beyond me.
[ Find out why software developers are immune from the recession. | Weigh in on the best first language for a programmer and whether the "hacker ethic" helps or harms today's developers. ]
Perhaps the best-known proponent of this technique is Google. As if its notoriously stringent academic standards weren't enough, Google's interminable interview process also involves a Byzantine entrance exam. Here's just one example of a typical Google interview question, according to SFGate.com:
Every man in a village of 100 married couples has cheated on his wife. Every wife in the village instantly knows when a man other than her husband has cheated, but does not know when her own husband has. The village has a law that does not allow for adultery. Any wife who can prove that her husband is unfaithful must kill him that very day. The women of the village would never disobey this law. One day, the queen of the village visits and announces that at least one husband has been unfaithful. What happens?
All I can say is wow. I doubt I'd do well at this particular exam. The problem isn't that the questions are difficult, though I suppose they are. The problem is that they're asinine.
Anyone can make up a perfect-world scenario: "A certain branch of government contains 435 representatives, all of them equally honest and wise. No representative would ever vote for a bad bill, and every representative must vote for a good bill when it's introduced in proceedings..."
But there's another problem with this type of question: It seems to demonstrate less the applicant's problem-solving ability than the employer's own limited thinking.
Garbage in, garbage out
There's a published, accepted solution to the village-husbands question. According to it, a certain number of husbands are killed on the first day, then a few more the next day, and so on, depending on who has cheated on whom. It's all described in terms of the variable n and laid out as a neat little algorithm.
Here's my solution: Nothing happens.
If every husband cheats and every wife knows when another woman's husband cheats, then every wife is already aware of cheating in the village. The queen has introduced no new data.
Get the independent advice and expertise you need to support a virtual workforce.
The increase in Linux popularity has increased the frequency and sophistication of malware attacks. Read this 2 page white paper now to learn how you can protect your Linux environment with real-time protection that is certified by all major Linux vendors.
Download now »
Ensuring acceptable application delivery will become even more difficult over the next few years. As a result, IT organizations need to ensure that the approach that they take to resolving the current application delivery challenges can scale to support the emerging challenges. This handbook elaborates on the key tasks associated with planning, optimization, management and control and provides decision criteria to help IT organizations choose appropriate solutions.
Download now »
A common misconception is that mid-range storage requirements are dramatically different than that of a larger enterprise. Mid-range storage users may require less capacity, but they have similar functionality and management requirements. This ESG paper examines mid-range storage needs and reviews a new solution that adjusts size while retaining value, performance and functionality.
Download now »The women of the village all band together and tell the queen that it is her husband that has been unfaithful, and the queen is then forced to kill her own husband. The women then kill the queen, take over the government, abolish all laws, go on Oprah to talk about it where they all receive new cars, and live happily ever after.
Sign up to receive InfoWorld Resource Alerts
748 Recommendations
