[throwaway_415]

Just to add two points that bother me the most:

1. It doesn't actually test my ability. Most of the time there is a stackoverflow solution and I'm going to just look it up and regurgitate it. I can't remember where I read this but allegedly it took Knuth a day of thinking to come up with the most optimal solution for one of the presented challenges (it was either the maximum subarray sum or stock sell problem).

2. It's all very well preparing for these interviews at my age (under 30, no responsibilities or family, generous severance from my previous employer), however, what happens 10 years down the line with responsibilities and hungry mouths to feed.