Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by uraniumjelly 845 days ago
> * The ability to solve easy and medium leetcode-like challenges

What about Fermi estimation problems? The internet seems to have turned on them in recent years, but they are a good test of intuition and general problem solving skills.

1 comments

In four of the last five jobs I have held over the last 30 years, I have been the "last resort", the one who can find a creative, elegant, cost-effective solution when everyone else is hitting dead ends or just sitting there spinning their wheels in the mud. And I go utterly blank when confronted with a Fermi problem.

People who are good at Fermi problems may be good problem solvers. But people who are good problem solvers may not be good at Fermi problems.