> It's exactly this sort of programmer that caused me to make my big list of 
> computer questions you should be able to answer in one sentence before you 
> come work for me.
>
> http://us.php.net/manual/en/function.abs.php#58508

I don't think it's a joke, there just genuinely are lots of people out there 
who aren't very good at quickly spotting good ways to do things.

We have a list of questions for graduate Engineers here too, it's surprising 
how many don't spot the obvious ways to solve most questions.  It takes some 
time to write good questions that are capable of separating out the 
applicants.

My favourite is the parametric equation we give and ask them to calculate 
the area under the curve between two limits.  It's funny how many go on for 
sometimes over a page of algebra and integration without realising it's just 
a circle and you can write down the answer in one line :-D

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