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If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)

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Re: If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)

#21

Post by belter »

jmgrosen wrote: post #16

One would hope Microsoft wouldn't hire him due to his long history of rampant sexism, but, being realistic, they would not likely care.

Your comment led me to be the 10,000 today https://xkcd.com/1053/ to discover Feynmans Women's Bathing Swimsuits...

Re: If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)

#23

Post by [deleted] »

13of40 wrote: post #14
danbrooks wrote: post #2

What an amazing ending! :)

When I worked there in the early 2000's I had a friend of a friend whose fiancée graduated with a bachelor's degree in either CS or EE and applied for a developer position. Somehow, and I struggle to understand the mechanics of this because engineering was highly compartmentalized away from the "business" parts of the business, they managed to turn her down for an engineering role and got her a job in marketing. Also…

[deleted]

Re: If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)

#24

Post by cacois »

13of40 wrote: post #14
danbrooks wrote: post #2

What an amazing ending! :)

When I worked there in the early 2000's I had a friend of a friend whose fiancée graduated with a bachelor's degree in either CS or EE and applied for a developer position. Somehow, and I struggle to understand the mechanics of this because engineering was highly compartmentalized away from the "business" parts of the business, they managed to turn her down for an engineering role and got her a job in marketing. Also…

That was actually fun to think through for a minute. Easy, but I can see how a young me nervous at an interview might have stumbled.

Its why I hate those things. They aren't testing analytical or creative ability, they are testing grace under pressure - a quality I have found is gained through experience.

Re: If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)

#25

Post by csells »

13of40 wrote: post #14
danbrooks wrote: post #2

What an amazing ending! :)

When I worked there in the early 2000's I had a friend of a friend whose fiancée graduated with a bachelor's degree in either CS or EE and applied for a developer position. Somehow, and I struggle to understand the mechanics of this because engineering was highly compartmentalized away from the "business" parts of the business, they managed to turn her down for an engineering role and got her a job in marketing. Also…

It depends on your definition of optimal. If you optimize for time, then pressing each button one at a time until a Coke comes out. Plus it doesn't take any brain cells so I can get back to coding quicker. : )

Re: If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)

#27

Post by arethuza »

13of40 wrote: post #14
danbrooks wrote: post #2

What an amazing ending! :)

When I worked there in the early 2000's I had a friend of a friend whose fiancée graduated with a bachelor's degree in either CS or EE and applied for a developer position. Somehow, and I struggle to understand the mechanics of this because engineering was highly compartmentalized away from the "business" parts of the business, they managed to turn her down for an engineering role and got her a job in marketing. Also…

I really think the answer for all of those kinds of questions should be "I'd use Google to find the answer". I mean who would try and solve a problem like that without searching for a solution first?

Edit: http://mathpuzzlewiki.com/index.php/Soda_machine

Re: If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)

#28

Post by 988747 »

zepolen wrote: post #18
dudul wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm so pissed at these stupid questions during interviews that now I start doing that. The last one was "how many tennis balls could you fit in the Empire State Building?". I spent maybe 10 minutes asking idiotic "clarifying" questions before the interviewer realized I was messing with him (e.g. "can I use any color for the balls?" "Do I have a crew to help me?" "Can I try to crush them?" etc). He got pretty upset ye…

So what's not serious about that question assuming it was for a programming position?

For one, it has nothing to do with programming. Also, nothing to do with time management, people skills, or anything else that programmers do on their job.

Re: If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)

#29

Post by beached_whale »

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #13
thom wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, that _is_ the conceit here. The ‘right’ answer is that all manhole covers are round because a round cover can’t fall into the hole.

I'm fairly certain a square manhole cover with a sufficient perimeter would still have no chance of falling into a hole, depending on the diameter of said hole.

If you provide a sufficient lip on the hole such that the minimum side is larger than any of the four diagonals it would work.

Re: If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)

#30

Post by cacois »

ThePadawan wrote: post #9
danbrooks wrote: post #2

What an amazing ending! :)

I don't think I get the punchline. Could someone explain?

You were supposed to expect them to fail his interview because he didn't give the "right" answer (manhole covers are round so they can't fall in the hole). Instead, he completely disagreed with the "right" answer, but did so in a way that was incredibly convincing. So, they decided his primary value was not in his intellect (leading him to a job in engineering), but in his ability to convince people of things (leading him to a job in marketing).
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