On Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:59:43 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

> It's more the fact that I didn't know how a raytracer worked (nor how to
> solve simultaneous equations, by the way), and I worked it out from
> first principles, and it actually worked when I typed it in. I was
> ilated!
> 
> ...until I discovered that everybody else has already done it, and it's
> considered a trivial college student exercise.

Well, I was a college student in Computer Science, and it's not something 
I could work out on my own.  So don't worry about the second part, the 
first part is the important part - you worked it out *on your own*, which 
is more than the college students doing the exercise do, because it's 
part of an assignment for them.

>> And for people like that, being paid to do what they find interesting
>> is a good incentive to finish a project that's been started.
> 
> I agree.

And there's your incentive to look for something more "in your field". :-)

>>> That's what I'm using. The form is basically filled out and ready to
>>> go.
>> 
>> Good. :-)
> 
> The form is sent.

Excellent!

>>> I don't know - is dumping a bunch of Haskell code on them which they
>>> have no way of compiling going to prove anything? I could be making it
>>> all up for all they know...
>> 
>> Don't assume what their capabilities are.  You compiled it, they can
>> get a compiler.  They may even look at it and say "hey, I've never
>> heard of this language before", in which case you get bonus points for
>> introducing them to a new language.  (I know it's hard, but resist the
>> temptation to reply to this with "well, obviously it's not useful for
>> anything so why would they have heard of it?" or something along those
>> lines.)
>> 
>> Like I said, don't do their thinking for them.  They're capable of
>> doing that.
> 
> This is Wolfram. I'm sure they'll have heard of a heavily accademic
> language such as Haskell. Doesn't mean they use it.

Doesn't mean they don't, either.  Hopefully you mentioned your interest 
in Haskell in the application.  Comes under the heading of "don't do the 
prospective employer's thinking for them". :-)

> Anyway, I don't have any "working" code to hand right this exact second,
> and the application has been sent in now, so...

So it's something to bring up in the interview.

Jim

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