Absolutely right! While we did suggest that applicants try to solve one of these in whatever language they liked, the main purpose was to attract curious and smart people. And it worked! These puzzles brought us a ton of great candidates along with lots of smart people who weren’t looking for a job, but just wanted to know how their solution to a given problem stacked up. It wasn’t a proxy for 2019 whiteboard hazing; these were simpler times...
-- Dave, ITA cofounder and creator of some of the puzzles, including my personal favorite, “Rebus”.
Dave is also known in some circles for coding Crash Bandicoot, a much-loved game of the period. I wonder of anybody remembers it today, and plays it on emulators.
-- Dave, ITA cofounder and creator of some of the puzzles, including my personal favorite, “Rebus”.