I've had this question asked of me before, and it seems valuable for the same reason as the question on the article: It's an opportunity to show passion/enthusiasm for programming work. I think even novice programmers who love to code will have that one bug that got them. Even if the story is anticlimactic ("I missed a semicolon"). iMo, explaining how they got to that conclusion in a logical, positive way, didn't give up or just copy/paste the answer, and ultimately moved on in the project with a new lesson in syntax is the real "passing answer."