Re:If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)
by Hokusai on Friday July 23, 2021 @01:27PM
(#27933330)
The problem is that it is impossible to give a good answer without context. Did it matter a 2% error? There are cost limits? Maybe you don't even need to know the number of ping pong balls but it would be faster to transport them by ship....
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Re:If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)
by BizarroLand on Friday July 23, 2021 @02:32PM
(#27934095)
If you dissolve the ping pong balls in acetone first I can fit as many as you have available into a 747 with plenty of room left over for a machine to reconstitute them on the other side.
Re:If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)
by s0rce on Friday July 23, 2021 @02:21PM
(#27933986)
Isn't the context an interview, ie. give a decent order of magnitude estimate with back of the envelope methods.
Re:If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)
by RHSeeger on Friday July 23, 2021 @03:36PM
(#27934737)
Probably, but to be fair, when a client asks "can you put a button here that sends an alert email when it's clicked?"... a reasonable first question may very well be "what is it you're hoping to accomplish here... so we can tell if such a button is really the right answer". In many cases, the button isn't the right answer. And being the kind of person that digs to find out what the problem trying to be solved actually is... can be very important.
Re:If Richard Feynman applied for a job at Microsoft (2002)
by Hokusai on Friday July 23, 2021 @02:34PM
(#27934111)
Oh, yes. It's about having a shared culture more than intelligence or knowledge. I know what I will answer if I wanted the job, that does not mean that it's a good answer, it just means that I have the background to know what are they looking for.