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For the likes of Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and the like, I think it's a great way to narrow the list down. If they get hundreds of thousands of applications a year, there's probably a good percentage of that group that "could" do the job, so they need to be more selective. I guess the next best way to do that in an efficient way is to go down the CS route, even if it means you'll miss out on some fantastic developers.

Where I take offence to it is in how it's used in shitty consultancies, startups and agencies. If you're asking me to build a linked list in an interview where all I'll be doing is maintaining some shitty CRUD app in procedural PHP then it's a sure-fire sign that the company is a terrible place to work, and the people in charge have no business being there.