[jergosh]

That is great advice on how to hire mindreaders. While the first idea (explaining something concisely) is defensible, the second (testing if people will 'stay on topic' when deliberately asked about something else) is just crazy.

[danielweber]

I put a piece of paper on the desk in front of them. It has the number "3" with a big red X through it. Then I hold a baseball bat in a threatening position and tell them to give me an integer between 1 and 10.

This technique works wonders, as I'm able to filter out the 90% of candidates who are losers.

Spoiler: the right answer is 8.