# Job Interview Riddle **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 24, 2000, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451 "2000-05-24T20:40:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2000, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451/41 "2000-05-27T20:13:00Z")
The question I’ve gotten at a couple of different jobs is “What position on a baseball team is most important?” Of course, the _right_ answer is “None–they’re a team and are all equally important.” I didn’t like that answer. So I told the interviewers “The catcher.” Of course, they wanted to know why. “Because the catcher is the only player who’s able to keep an eye on those other 8 sons-of-bitches.” Probably wouldn’t have worked anywhere but Texas…but I got both jobs. -David ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2000, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451/42 "2000-05-29T02:10:31Z")
The question in the OP doesn’t make any sense. If they already make inflatable boats, what do they need a prototype for? Why can’t they just keep on making their old inflatable boats? ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2000, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451/43 "2000-05-29T08:36:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > The question in the OP doesn’t make any sense. If they already make inflatable boats, what do they need a prototype for? Why can’t they just keep on making their old inflatable boats? > \*\* This is a good point, and whether you address the interviewer about this (ie, point out the curious use of the word “prototype”) or not is an interesting dilemma? Would the rest of you? (It’s actually similar to a situation where you notice that the original classified ad/job posting has a typo in it. Do you say something?) My answer: I probably would, in both cases, but tactfully, of course. Especially for the question above as opposed to my scenario, because it might buy me a couple seconds to try to figure out what the OP is designed to accomplish (while they’re busy clarifying the original question). I’m particularly interested in what a recruiter or office administrator would think. As to Soulfrost’s original baseball question, I would think my answer would be “Mine. At least to me.” (Followed by standard tripe about how it IS a team sport, blahblah…) ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_in\_HK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@Mike\_in\_HK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_in_HK)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451/44 "2004-11-09T10:02:24Z")
Why not outsource the design and construction of the prototype…the first guy that arrives on your island in an inflatable dinghy has proved he has the best product…Microsoft then buy his idea, market it as their own and sit back and watch 95% of the population buy the damn thing only to see it pop leaks every other day and sink. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451/45 "2004-11-09T10:14:25Z")
> [@Mike in HK](#): > > Why not outsource the design and construction of the prototype…the first guy that arrives on your island in an inflatable dinghy has proved he has the best product…Microsoft then buy his idea, market it as their own and sit back and watch 95% of the population buy the damn thing only to see it pop leaks every other day and sink. That’s because you have cunningly made lots of tiny little holes in it so everyone has to constantly upgrade with, ahem, patches. Lifeboat 2.0, with Portholes XP. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451/46 "2004-11-09T10:33:50Z")
I think I would point out that prototyping is not an appropriate design methodology for an object that is expected to traverse bodies of deep water. Who the hell wants to do the mid Pacific QA on _Lifesaver V1.0_. The correct answer for “What are your weaknesses?” is “I make the other staff look bad.” For the paranoid amongst us it is “All the other staff hate me because I’m so popular.” ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451/47 "2004-11-09T10:52:08Z")
- - - Okay, I would make the boat round, semi-translucent and have weighted streamers hanging off the bottom. The reason is that it would then look like a jellyfish, and _sharks don’t eat jellyfish_. \<:D … - Of course, after looking it up I see that sea turtles and sunfish both _do_ eat jellyfish, and both of them are generally considered non-violent… to _people_. But both of them grow as big as a subcompact car, and if you could ask a jellyfish, I rather doubt that _it_ would say they were non-violent… but the interviewer may have just read it in a trendy management book last month and know nothing of the seas. So I’ll place my bet on the jellyfish-boat answer. ~ ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451/48 "2004-11-09T11:30:33Z")
> [@h\_thur](#): > > Another interview riddle: > > “What are your weaknesses?” How is one to answer that?! > > Well, I am addicted to SDMB, I am shy, I am horribly disorganized, etc. I tend to be impatient. If other workers are holding my back, I usually offer to help them out. I’m also a perfectionist, I am constantly thinking of ways to improve the product I am working on. Ding! Bingo! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451/49 "2004-11-09T12:40:43Z")
I would offer to make it out of this thread, since even though it sank four and a half years ago, it has risen to the surface again. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451/50 "2004-11-09T13:11:47Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > I would offer to make it out of this thread, since even though it sank four and a half years ago, it has risen to the surface again. Ah, thank you! I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why Billehunt was having trouble finding people in Silicon Valley. Those were the days… As for the stupid interview question, assuming it was really a desert island, I guess my answer would be “First find a rubber tree.” ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451/51 "2004-11-09T15:12:53Z")
There’s a book on this now, [How Would You Move Mount Fuji](http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0316919160/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-0978355-5948120#reader-link), by William Poundstone, copyright 2003. Maybe he’s a Doper and wrote it after reading/posting this thread. Anyway you can go to the library and check it out. It’s fairly interesting. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451/52 "2004-11-09T17:37:59Z")
How the heck do guests find Zombie threads? They can’t search. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451/53 "2004-11-09T18:48:52Z")
**Finagle** wrote > [@](#): > > Ah, thank you! I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why Billehunt was having trouble finding people in Silicon Valley. Those were the days… Indeed they were. Haven’t seen that name in a while; wonder what became of him. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451/54 "2004-11-09T20:13:45Z")
> [@Mike in HK](#): > > Why not outsource the design and construction of the prototype…the first guy that arrives on your island in an inflatable dinghy has proved he has the best product…Microsoft then buy his idea, market it as their own and sit back and watch 95% of the population buy the damn thing only to see it pop leaks every other day and sink. If you must refer to old threads, link to them-do _not_ resurrect them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-interview-riddle/20451.md?page=2)