[sedev]

Interviewers who explicitly phrase the 'how would you move Mt. Fuji' or 'here's a development task outside of your stated competencies, how would you do it?' as hypotheticals or thought exercises, could save a lot of heartbreak. I can see the rationale behind those questions, but any experienced interviewer should know how tense people get during an interview: allowing interviewees to perceive those questions as being about the literal answer, rather than about the process, is kind of a jerkface thing to do. Besides, people who can't coherently explain their thought processes are going to bomb on that question anyhow - have some courtesy and give a leg up to people who are merely nervous. I'm grateful to the interviewers I've had in the past who have come out and said "this question is about the process, not about the result".

I think it's very important to reduce the tension level, because if you're asking someone a question intended to show how they think and reason, especially with some level of creativity, you risk getting a useless answer if they're tense and antsy. Nervousness and pressure often kill creative thinking: this is well-established.