> Call me a snob if you will, but I don't want to work with mediocre programmers
> I want people with passion for our field, and those people can't avoid gaining the kind of knowledge that Colin's test asks about.
Claiming to own the definition of passion is not snobbish but conceited.
Perhaps I consider programmers mediocre if they lack design experience and cannot show me how to setup custom guides in illustrator. "I want people with passion for our field" I don't simply want programmers who end at the compiled code, I want people who understand design, typography and color theory. A programmer who cannot do these things is mediocre at best.
Or maybe it is linux that is the bar. It doesn't make any sense for a programmer to use windows, only real programmers use linux. They should be able to install/configure openssh, tomcat, nginx, redis, mysql-server. They need to know bash inside and out, be able to create permissions, user groups and have a deep and thorough understanding of the kernel. If you are a windows programmer then I don't have time for you at my company where all we do all day is build awesome.
Perhaps it is mathematics. Algebra, calculus, trig, geometry. Statistics, analytics... I hope you have your TI-83 ready for this interview. As only the most mediocre of programmers will barely be able to survive in this industry without a MS in Applied Mathematics.
Hire who you want, base your interviews how you want you want. Just don't assume to be on the upper bar and beneath you lies mediocrity. That's all.
Your post is largely a straw man and contains snark that certainly does not raise the level of this conversation.
I'm talking about passion for programming. I'm not "claiming to own the definition of passion," I'm saying that passion for programming manifests in knowing the answers to questions like Colin's. It simply does.
> I want people with passion for our field, and those people can't avoid gaining the kind of knowledge that Colin's test asks about.
Claiming to own the definition of passion is not snobbish but conceited.
Perhaps I consider programmers mediocre if they lack design experience and cannot show me how to setup custom guides in illustrator. "I want people with passion for our field" I don't simply want programmers who end at the compiled code, I want people who understand design, typography and color theory. A programmer who cannot do these things is mediocre at best.
Or maybe it is linux that is the bar. It doesn't make any sense for a programmer to use windows, only real programmers use linux. They should be able to install/configure openssh, tomcat, nginx, redis, mysql-server. They need to know bash inside and out, be able to create permissions, user groups and have a deep and thorough understanding of the kernel. If you are a windows programmer then I don't have time for you at my company where all we do all day is build awesome.
Perhaps it is mathematics. Algebra, calculus, trig, geometry. Statistics, analytics... I hope you have your TI-83 ready for this interview. As only the most mediocre of programmers will barely be able to survive in this industry without a MS in Applied Mathematics.
Hire who you want, base your interviews how you want you want. Just don't assume to be on the upper bar and beneath you lies mediocrity. That's all.