What does this have to do at all with the job at hand?
Nothing whatsoever.
It really feels like there’s no connection to the reality of the role whatsoever anymore.
You got that right. Basically what's going on here is that the people running these interviews don't really know what they're doing -- and are secretly terrified of being "found out". So in a desperate attempt to compensate, they lunge for whatever technique they vaguely heard about being used at, you know, "leet" companies. And (as others have pointed out) at (apparently) very little cost or risk to themselves.[1]
Because that way... even though basically don't know why they're asking that question of you... and not only that, most likely would not be able to answer an analogously difficult (and unrelated to their own problem domain) question themselves! --
if you do manage to make it through, they'll at least know that you're "leet".
[1] Except of course, the opportunity cost of false negatives, and the reputation risk (and damage to recruitment prospects) that inevitably ensues once your company becomes widely known for mindlessly cargo-culting outdated and discredited interview techniques. Which they would know about, if they knew that they were doing. But then again, apparently they don't.
Nothing whatsoever.
It really feels like there’s no connection to the reality of the role whatsoever anymore.
You got that right. Basically what's going on here is that the people running these interviews don't really know what they're doing -- and are secretly terrified of being "found out". So in a desperate attempt to compensate, they lunge for whatever technique they vaguely heard about being used at, you know, "leet" companies. And (as others have pointed out) at (apparently) very little cost or risk to themselves.[1]
Because that way... even though basically don't know why they're asking that question of you... and not only that, most likely would not be able to answer an analogously difficult (and unrelated to their own problem domain) question themselves! --
if you do manage to make it through, they'll at least know that you're "leet".
[1] Except of course, the opportunity cost of false negatives, and the reputation risk (and damage to recruitment prospects) that inevitably ensues once your company becomes widely known for mindlessly cargo-culting outdated and discredited interview techniques. Which they would know about, if they knew that they were doing. But then again, apparently they don't.