Re:Programmer distillation
by MaxGabriel on Tuesday January 22, 2013 @11:48PM
(#5101421)
I agree with the author, but the petroleum analogy was extended way too far and muddles the issues. Here are some specific topics that the umbrella of the analogy covers that could have been addressed:
a) How important is 'cultural fit'? Should Paypal have not hired an otherwise talented engineer because they called basketball 'hoops'? [1]
b) Hiring Generalists vs Specialists
c) How to evaluate candidates
As the questions get more nuanced, the answers can be far more compelling. For example, you might come away agreeing with this article but not realize you're subconsciously using the inaccurate heuristic Y to look for programmers. But if the answer to c) is that work sample tests are the best way to evaluate candidates [2], it's much harder to ignore.
a) How important is 'cultural fit'? Should Paypal have not hired an otherwise talented engineer because they called basketball 'hoops'? [1]
b) Hiring Generalists vs Specialists
c) How to evaluate candidates
As the questions get more nuanced, the answers can be far more compelling. For example, you might come away agreeing with this article but not realize you're subconsciously using the inaccurate heuristic Y to look for programmers. But if the answer to c) is that work sample tests are the best way to evaluate candidates [2], it's much harder to ignore.
[1] http://blakemasters.com/post/21437840885/peter-thiels-cs183-...
[2] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4613543
edited for formatting