[dasht]

Riddles, logic puzzles, "write some code on the whiteboard" ....

It took me years to realize that these are not tests of technical ability, they are tests of submissiveness.

For example, if you are being interviewed by someone at the same level as you for some position -- and they pull such crap -- now you know how low their expectations of the employer are.

And if you are being interviewed by someone fairly senior relative to the position -- and they ask you such BS interview questions -- you can be damn sure that they themselves would laugh at and walk away from any interviewer that did that to them.

So when you give the clever answer and wait for your gold star... you've established your place in the order of things.