[crazygringo]

It's funny, but I feel like this is exactly the kind of skill required in engineering or business generally -- "How can we creatively maximize 'x' given what we've got?"

In fact, it wouldn't strike me as an unreasonable interview question, using the physical pieces. Of course some people are better with spatial reasoning than others (and experience with Legos is another leg up) -- but using several simple, general-purpose questions along these lines almost feels like a FizzBuzz for any job where problem-solving is an important part.

[jacquesm]

There's this joke about an Ikea job interview: interviewer tosses a bunch of parts on the floor in the interview room and says: take a chair.