Thing is, I’m tired of talking myself into being excited about a vague opportunity. It doesn’t matter if they love me if I know nothing about them. And honestly, I’ve seen myself sabotage an interview that was making me uncomfortable because I don’t want to be someone’s anecdote about the guy who walked out mid interview.
So you might learn something more about me that changes your mind in the next ten minutes but if I don’t know more about you then it’s all for nothing.
The thing nobody wants to talk about is that psychologically, you already made up your mind 20 minutes in, now you’re just trying to justify your decision. I’ve seen people flunk a candidate for answering a question correctly and recommend another for getting the same question wrong.
If a company isn't thinking carefully about how they interview you, are they going to think carefully about the work they want you to do?
If they refuse, that also tells you something about the company.
At least in the interviews I've participated in (both as applicant and as host) it's always been a mutual affair, both parties trying to figure out if there is good fit.