Re:On a Great Interview Question
by pkd on Thursday April 13, 2023 @12:14AM
(#35550868)
While being good at Leetcode is not necessarily negatively correlated with being a good software engineer, is is also not positively correlated. Thus, by relying on it solely, you are still making a coin-toss decision about the software engineering skills of the candidate.
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> it is also not positively correlated
Do you seriously think that claim is true? That coin toss predicts software engineering ability as well as leetcode? I don’t think any reasonable person can take this seriously.
Berkson's paradox suggests that even if they seem negatively correlated that may only be due to the selection process. For example, suppose that an interview has 2 components, a leetcode section and an engineering section. Both are scored out of 10, and a total score of 15 is needed to pass.
Among those who pass, the two components might seem negatively correlated. This is because you can score a 10 on one section and pass with only a 5 on the other. However, among the general population both sections might even be positively correlated.