Comment by lsalvatore

Bingo. Smart people understand the domain of interview questions (which we know is contrived) and typically can study enough to implement the solutions. It's not always about getting the question right- it's about demonstrating you are smart, but also these questions are core CS fundementals so it also tests that they have a formal education. Anyone can learn Git, JS, but how many can apply a programming language to a complex problem on the spot?