[mv4]

I also feel it's very easy for a good interviewer to bring the conversation back to the desired scenario.

Anything from "imagine we are in a parallel universe where Google Sheets has not been invented yet" to "how would you design a google sheets competitor" would do the trick.

Source: interviewed hundreds, incl FAANG.

[maccard]

Yeah - for sure. When I’m interviewing I want to give the candidate the best chance of success and to show off both what they know and how they will work with me.

I generally give it three goes with questions like these - the initial ask, and two clarifications. If we’re not getting anywhere I move on.