From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 To: 9fans@cse.psu.edu Subject: Re: [9fans] Re: the 'science' in computer science In-Reply-To: Message from "Matt" of "Thu, 28 Jun 2001 23:03:57 +0100." <001601c1001e$3aa698a0$6401a8c0@freeze2k> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Message-ID: <23603.993770440@apnic.net> From: George Michaelson Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 09:20:40 +1000 Topicbox-Message-UUID: c0f11a8e-eac9-11e9-9e20-41e7f4b1d025 > We had a CS graduate come for an interview. He was clearly a bit clueless. > The questions were scaled down to make him feel a bit better when he left. > "What is a hexadecimal number?" > "A combination of numbers and letters" > You know, there are contexts where this is the right answer. Like, if you manipulate them as input/output objects and need to check the datastream to see if the tokenising input should end. And, the difference between Hex 0F and Decimal 15 is that both have exactly the same bit-pattern in memory. Strangely, if you add 2 apples in hex and 2 oranges in decimal OR octal, you still have 4 bits of fruit. So, you can do mixed-base sums after all. Why don't they teach you that at school any more? I had a chum who'd had a 6th finger cut off early. If they'd left it on, would he have had any advantages doing finger arithmetic? > He had a nice suit on though. > Should'a employed him then. Anybody slavish enough to dress up to get a job is probably going to work hard for the first 7 months until disallusionment sets in. I still writhe with embarrassment recalling an interview for the UK N.E.R.C to get a junior progroid job onboard the antarctic ships, when asked to write a solution to pythagoras in pascal, there, in front of the panel. Flop sweat and memory loss and nicotine withdrawal and sheer fright combined to make it both humiliating for me, and revealing for them. I think they made the right decision to quietly let me go. Still, I got to see the steam loco graveyard at barry island so it wasn't all wasted. cheers -George PS I suspect that in this niche, people aren't working as a result of a successful interview. I think they probably know people who know people who trust people who let them on board. If there is an interview, its more like dogs sniffing each other, or 'do you wanna be in my gang?' than joining the army. -- George Michaelson | APNIC Email: ggm@apnic.net | PO Box 2131 Milton QLD 4064 Phone: +61 7 3367 0490 | Australia Fax: +61 7 3367 0482 | http://www.apnic.net