Yes, I understood what you were saying, and I was observing that even on a message board the question in the abstract was already a battle of wills.
I've done a lot of job interviews. It's not as simple as "candidate gave wrong answer, ding them and move on". If you're taking your job seriously, you're somewhat nervous too, and have to ask yourself if the answer they're giving is better than the one you're looking for. So now it's a debate, and now you're influenced by more than something you can look up in a book for the right answer.
I've done a lot of job interviews. It's not as simple as "candidate gave wrong answer, ding them and move on". If you're taking your job seriously, you're somewhat nervous too, and have to ask yourself if the answer they're giving is better than the one you're looking for. So now it's a debate, and now you're influenced by more than something you can look up in a book for the right answer.