[finnw]

> My favorite technical interview question is to ask the candidate about the worst bug they ever wrote.

Are you sure you are getting honest answers? Some candidates may be thinking "He'll never hire me if I admit how stupid I was, so I'll use this secondhand or dumbed-down story instead."

[groby_b]

Irrelevant - they talk about a technical issue they're familiar with. I can ask them questions about that issue. It's a good way to gauge their skill level while keeping them on familiar terrain.

It's usually fairly straightforward to see if somebody talks about their own experiences or is retelling a story they simply heard.

[TwistedWeasel]

Exactly, even if it's not their own story, if they are able to talk intelligently about the subject matter and explain the problem and solution well then i've gained valuable information about the candidate.

Unfortunately i've had a couple of candidates who's response to the question was "I don't really write bugs". Those are the ones I know for sure are lying.

[RyJones]

Eh, I own the dumb things I've done.

[TwistedWeasel]

Quite right, learning from our mistakes is what makes us better.