[patatino]

I once read it is a form of ageism because older people, in general, don't have as much time as young people due to family to study for those interviews.

Absolutely no idea if that is true but I think it is an interesting thought.

[riffraff]

but someone who is old would have studied this repeatedly if they applied to multiple interviews of the same kind, so they would have internalised knowledge. Also it's sort of timeless knowledge that you can acquire on the job.

If anything interviews about the latest hip technology seem more prone to age selection to me.

[bradleyjg]

A new job every six months was not the pattern ten years ago. Also, back then you would have been asked why manhole covers are round instead of write a bug free implementation of A* on a whiteboard. Neither of those are timeless bits of knowledge that one acquires on any job, other than maybe job interview coach.

[abraCadabstrax]

Is it to keep the cover from falling in the hole?

[steev]

It is not true at all. I have a family where I am the one primarily taking care of the (very young) kids (wife works long hours) and I have a job. I find time to keep my skills sharp. If you take 15-30min a day, every day, you will have no problem with these interviews (granted, it will take some practice to get up and running initially).