> For some reason most people seem to be born without the part of the brain that understands pointers
Well, that's just false. Everyone can understand pointers given both time and interest. I realize Joel likes to think him and people like him are "special" and born with innate super powers, but we have overwhelming evidence that it isn't true.
I certainly wouldn't recommend hiring someone to write embedded systems that don't understand pointers, but if you are hiring a generalist, a good engineer can figure it out if it becomes a job requirement down the road.
These are the reasons literally everything Joel says should be taken with the biggest grain of salt you can find. He seems like a smart dude, but like a lot of smart dudes that are aware of their intelligence he highly overestimates (and overvalues) his particular opinions.
My advice: don't be like Joel and use anecdata to drive your theories on what constitutes a good interview. You're already writing exactly like he does, and that's not beneficial to you or to those you're interviewing.
Well, that's just false. Everyone can understand pointers given both time and interest. I realize Joel likes to think him and people like him are "special" and born with innate super powers, but we have overwhelming evidence that it isn't true.
I certainly wouldn't recommend hiring someone to write embedded systems that don't understand pointers, but if you are hiring a generalist, a good engineer can figure it out if it becomes a job requirement down the road.
These are the reasons literally everything Joel says should be taken with the biggest grain of salt you can find. He seems like a smart dude, but like a lot of smart dudes that are aware of their intelligence he highly overestimates (and overvalues) his particular opinions.
My advice: don't be like Joel and use anecdata to drive your theories on what constitutes a good interview. You're already writing exactly like he does, and that's not beneficial to you or to those you're interviewing.