Can you solve this riddle Elon Musk asks job applicants?

[anon87143080]

Crudely drawn, but this shows moving X miles south, then X miles east, then X miles north, ending in the original spot.

[Hypoxia]

@csilvest

The few times I was dragged into interviewing, I had a simple question about PLC logic. Two rungs that did the same function; one that could be written in one line but was kinda tricky to understand, and the other being 4 lines long but much easier to understand.

“Tricky to understand” ==> write-only code. Do not try to read or grok it – that’s the computer’s job…

Back in the day, I inhaled Dr Dobbs Journal of Computer Calisthentics and Orthodontia (and I have the tees to prove it) which amongst other stuff featured contests for the most compact and incomprehensible code. I’ll admit to some antisocial coding myself. Shame on me.

[Bozobub]

[offtopic]Every time I see your name, I think of MF DOOM (a compliment, btw).[/offtopic]

[ficuswhisperer]

@Hypoxia

contests for the most compact and incomprehensible code

Something like this still exists:

The International Obfuscated C Code Contest

[BakerB]

My dad, who started coding for the USAF in the 50s, believed that complex, compact code was always the best code. He loved COBOL, said it made you have to think elegantly. He would have hated the kind of slop that huge amounts of memory lets folks get away with these days. He also believed that long playing albums ruined jazz.

[Hypoxia]

Compact compiled software is best IMHO but if the source is read-only it will be dauntingly difficult to maintain. I was trained to thoroughly comment my COBOL and c code. No shit-coding allowed.

[p96]

You’re at the center of Discworld, duh.

[brenbart]

@csilvest

On topic: IMHO, Elon Musk is both brilliant and an idiot.

IMHO, Elon Musk is mostly a jerk. At least his public persona. I wonder how much of that is the corrosive effect of having too much money?

[NickyG]

@brenbart

I wonder how much of that is the corrosive effect of having too much money?

My hunch is it’s a lot. I’ve certainly seen it in people I know, with much smaller amounts of wealth involved.

[lizard-of-oz]

@csilvest

I’m guessing the intersection of “people who read books full of brain teasers as a hobby” and believe they’re really good [ engineers | programmers | artists | other creatives ] is significant.

FTFY. Those who are really good are busy solving all kinds of real problems they encounter. At least that is my experience.

@ficuswhisperer

Whenever I’ve had to do technical interviews for a non-vendor position, I tend to use a simple but rather open-ended coding question but with intentionally vague requirements. I would expect even a junior person to get through the coding part, but what I’m more interested in is the thinking beyond just the code

I found that a really simple and fun way of determining whether or not to hire somebody is to sit down and write some code together for 2 hours. I’m pretty fast at finding something that challenges them, and then I do my best to keep the situation friendly and cooperative. Both parties learn a lot in a session, and I have yet to encounter somebody who didn’t appreciate the experience. These days when I’m forced to sit through a normal job interview, I find that a real waste of time, so I try to find a way of working together for other types of jobs, too.

@KipTW

“Weed out unlucky people from your job applicants by simply throwing away half the CVs you receive, unread.”

Brilliant. But be aware that trick only works for a good company. In a bad company, the unlucky ones will be in the pile you keep.

[csilvest]

I read Dr. Dobbs, BYTE, and Circuit Cellar monthly. Didn’t understand much of the latter, but enjoyed nonetheless.

Don’t get me wrong. I like the tricks and hacks and Obfuscated Code contests. As entertainment, not what pays the bills.

[CTG]

All that my interviews ever start out with is:

“You are a turtle…”

[Mister44]

Thanks for the visual. Before I watched the video, I thought about it again and thought of this solution. I did not go the step further and realize that there are infinite solutions as presented in the video.

Great riddle.