>"It is not enough to be able to implement quicksort. One must have the algorithm thoroughly memorized so that it can be scrawled onto the whiteboard in one smooth motion of the dry-erase pen. If you pause to say "hmm..." while re-deriving quicksort on the spot, you will be branded as "slow" and obviously inferior to the candidate who spent three days bashing his/her head against an algorithms textbook."
If at an interview they asked/expected that of me, it would promptly disinterest me in working for them. And I'd probably tell them that right there.
Optimizing for memorization of specific algorithms (of sorting even?) instead of problem-solving and domain-knowledge is quite a weird/perverse incentive. I'm surprised it's gotten this far, if it is true. The places I've interviewed generally ask prior experience, talk about solutions and approaches, and theoretical OO-questions of the fizz-buzz level just to be sure.
It's quite difficult to come up with really good, unique interview questions. It's quite a bit easier to walk into the room, say "write a function that returns all the permutations of a string" and watch the candidate squirm. That's why most companies do that, it has nothing to do with trying to find candidates who can do the work at hand.
If at an interview they asked/expected that of me, it would promptly disinterest me in working for them. And I'd probably tell them that right there.
Optimizing for memorization of specific algorithms (of sorting even?) instead of problem-solving and domain-knowledge is quite a weird/perverse incentive. I'm surprised it's gotten this far, if it is true. The places I've interviewed generally ask prior experience, talk about solutions and approaches, and theoretical OO-questions of the fizz-buzz level just to be sure.