
Become a better programmer by taking a shower - leftnode
http://leftnode.com/become-a-better-programmer-by-taking-a-shower/
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michaelcampbell
Brainteaser questions have a lot of problems, I've found.

One is that (IMO, anyway) it's the very, very rare individual who can actually
get through them by thinking their way through them. The interviewee either
knows the answer outright, or they don't. So the interview becomes more, "how
many of these brainteasers have you seen before?" Yeah, you can gauge a LITTLE
bit about a person by seeing how far you have to lead them to the answer
before they get it, but not much.

Another is that the interviewer is not trained in whatever black art it is
that can "get an idea about the candidate's thought process". And then, what
if you can? What does that matter? Can the guy do the job, or not?

All these questions do is waste time, attempt to give the interviewee a false
sense of the company's cool factor or exclusivity, and find out how many
brainteaser or "I interviewed at <company>..." blogs he's read.

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leftnode
I guess I didn't mean my entry as a way to do better in an interview, but just
to become a better programmer by trying to solve small problems quickly.

Kind of like doing a <http://projecteuler.net/> (Project Euler) problem in
your head while taking a shower.

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michaelcampbell
Yes, I'm sorry I took one small nugget of your entire post and ranted on it; I
apologize. What set me off was the "find the loop in a linked list" example;
that's one I heard many years ago. I never would have figured it out on my
own, but once explained (and for me, proven), it's just like having that
special wrench to get the nut under your car; you either have the tool and
it's easy, or don't and it's damn near impossible. The skill of the mechanic
doesn't come into play.

Your goals and means to achieve them were well reasoned and explained, I
thought. My only complaint now is I don't seem to have the willpower to do it
myself. =\

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samdk
I'm not sure whether it's really made me a better programmer, but I find that
doing something like taking a shower or getting something simple to eat can be
a good way of getting around mental blocks that have formed when I'm working
intensely on a problem.

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clueless123
Oops.. I really thought the article was going to suggest programmers to be
nice to their cube neighbors !

You know, sometimes, personal hygiene gets ranked not to high on the to-do
list :)

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mtarnovan
What is so smart about your solution ? Am i missing something ? Your solution
was the first that popped in my mind after reading the problem.

