jay-h (2/7/2014)
I'm of the very strong opinion that these novelty questions are basically ego stroking on the part of interviewers. There is absolutely NO scientific or statistical reason to expect they measure any real world performance attributes, of have any predictive behavior whatsoever.
If an interview was made up of nothing but these questions then I tend to agree, but one or two of these questions can provide valuable information as to how a candidate thinks. While the question may be silly and the answer inconsequential, how the candidate tackles the problem can speak volumes about how they will solve problems at your company when they don't immediately know the answer.
The answer doesn't matter as much as the method in which they get to that answer.
Jason Carter
Tampa, Florida
"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young" - Henry Ford