554
Op doesn't have time for interviews
(programming.dev)
Post:
You have three switches in one room and a single light bulb in another room. You are allowed to visit the room with the light bulb only once. How do you figure out which switch controls the bulb? Write your answer in the comments before looking at other answers.
Comment:
If this were an interview question, the correct response would be "Do you have any relevant questions for me? Because have a long list of things that more deserving of my precious time than to think about this!
This assumes several things to be true, which might not be true:
If any of the above is not true, the conclusion is invalid.
I'll go one further:
The biggest flaw is that it assumes you’ll add conditions you’re not explicitly told are allowed. Many, many problems in school would be trivial if changing the terms beyond what’s stated was allowed.
This is often exactly what the interview question is testing. Many of these questions are not about the solution but about how the applicant approaches problems
Yet they never explicitly state you’re allowed to make convenient assumptions. If the bulb was out of hand’s reach the problem would be unsolvable.
Assuming the electrician that wired the switches is in the room would be even a more out-of-the-box solution.
As I said, they care about how you think. Do you ask all these questions?
if I were given this interview question I would immediately start asking questions: Do I have my phone? Can I bring any objects into the room? Do I know the construction of the light? How far from the room is the light switch panel?
Asking "what are the limitations and conditions of this situation" is literally the thing they want to see. That's my entire point.
Also the image shows all 3 switches are on.
If I asked this question during an interview and the candidate gave me this list of assumptions, I would recommend the candidate. This is exactly what I would be looking for by asking a vague question, not if they memorized the answer to a bunch of riddles, but how they thought and what their line of thought was for troubleshooting the answer.
I tend to agree with this line of thinking. If you're trying to hire an effective problem solver, well the first step to solving any problem is understanding the problem - the whole problem - and often more importantly the context in which the problem exists.
And while my first reaction is to be frustrated with the person asking for a solution to such a vague problem... in the real world problems are rarely clearly stated, and frequently misstated. Investigating the apparent conditions of the problem is always necessary, and generally the fastest path to resolution.
I love the idea of someone trying this stupid question irl only to realize it wasn't even plugged in. That's ... well fuck, that's most IT work. The convoluted approach is definitely the wrong one. Lol
Also that the labels are as shown. For all we know the internal wiring is switched, and if that were the case then some could have Up=On while others have Up=Off but not all matching.
Also: