[actsasbuffoon]

I like that idea, and I may need to steal it. I have this tendency of asking candidates questions, and if I feel like they’re demonstrating very strong knowledge then I may toss them a few extremely obscure questions for bonus points, but I never expect candidates to get them right.

But this up-front approach of setting expectations seems like a better way to go.

[kstrauser]

Please do. I think you'll get more signal, too. If I were worried that I've forgotten something very basic I'm expected to know, you're not going to learn much about me other than that I don't do my best work during interrogations. Tell my I'm not expected to know a thing, and then there's lots of room to talk about it, and I can show you that maybe I'm at least familiar with the ideas even if I've forgotten the particulars.