[shantly]

A little experience gets you that same red flag instinct in a hurry, too.

[EDIT] it also makes you hesitate & second-guess and worry and experiment a bunch when contemplating using a recursive algorithm, which is deeply counterproductive in interviews where the expected behavior is so often "apply recursion, instantly and without hesitation" :-)

[nikanj]

Unfortunately interviews seem to be all about dogma, and if you even mention performance you will get dinged for premature optimization.

It’s like a postmodern religion where premature optimization is the cardinal sin, and you are supposed to burn as many cycles as possible to demonstrate that you are of good faith

[WorldMaker]

On the flipside, I've met different sorts of interviewers that ding someone for writing something intentionally unoptimized in the spirit of avoiding premature optimization for algorithmic clarity, because don't they have rote knowledge that "x is faster". Dogma on every side of the fence. (Also, continuing proof that technical interviews will never be objective evaluations of skill.)