
Ask HN: Candidate doesn't know `What is 2^-2?`. Will you hire? - interviewtester
Ask HN: What if I ask `What is 2^-2?` in an interview and the candidate with 6 years experience doesn&#x27;t know it. What will you do? Will you hire?<p>Update: Hiring for Senior Software Engineer. Candidate doesn&#x27;t know how to calculate negative powers.
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pattusk
That is way too little information for anybody to give you any sort of
significant or valuable feedback. What position are you hiring for? What other
skills and abilities did the candidate demonstrate? Was the candidate's
ignorance merely formal (did not know that "^" was power? did not know what a
negative power does?)

It seems unfair to me to have a single question be a dealbreaker, so you will
have to give more background info.

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interviewtester
Hiring for Senior Software Engineer. Candidate doesn't know what negative
powers does. Candidate showed some other skills. Just wanted to know HN thinks
about it.

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philpem
I had to look it up...

Yes it's basic maths, but it's something which isn't commonly used. It's
something I'd expect a mathematician to know, but not your average member of
the public.

For an SE, I'd expect them to know binary powers of two and why they're
important in computer systems, but negative powers? I can't immediately recall
a time I've used them.

Frankly, it looks like a pub quiz question, or one thrown in by an interviewer
just to be difficult. A bit like a "what does this code do" question which
digs into Undefined Behaviour.

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NotPaidToPost
This is poor.

A senior software engineer is not an "average member of the public" (as
someone commented).

This is basic maths and knowledge of basic maths is expected for someone who
(I assume) has a Bachelor or Master degree in a maths heavy field.

That's definitely a red flag for me.

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rahuldottech
It would be a deciding factor only if the job actually requires math skills.
Keep in mind that programming doesn't always count. Most app developers or
webdevs don't need to know this stuff, so if won't stop me from hiring them.

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dagw
So? Unless you're doing some sort of math heavy code I fail to see how that is
in any way relevant to most programming jobs.

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rahuldottech
This

