Re: [silk] Interview Questions
On Sep 7, 2009, at 9:22 PM, Kiran K Karthikeyan wrote: I would be interested to see what questions silklisters use to guage analytical, problem solving, and other skills when you are looking for both a creative and analytical profile. This is of course apart from questions based on their domain/work experience to guage the same skills, but I use standard questions so that I can compare one against the other if required, especially when the backgrounds and experience vary considerably. The couple questions posed here were problematic in that a person could be familiar enough with those types of interview questions to give an easy response even if those individuals were not particularly good candidates. I have seen those before as classic questions, have built-in answers, and I imagine plenty of other people will as well. At the same time, I don't have really good answers for this. My business is exceedingly technical. Ultimately, I am looking for someone with breadth and depth -- a polymath -- but also the ability to apply that knowledge to problems they have never seen before or for which there is no answer you can lookup in a book. This makes it a little more difficult to analyze, but helps ensure you get a good reading. One of the ways I test that is to ask broad questions with no answers but which have many avenues of attack and for which there is something resembling objective metrics for the answers given. This is usually sufficient to gauge a technical person very quickly. For software engineers, this would be open algorithm problems; not theoretically hard problems (e.g. provably NP-complete or similar) but just well-known holes in the literature of which there are hundreds. There are also well-understood and familiar problems that generalizing well requires considerable design nuance and experience such that most people will use at least some naive methods even if a known solution exists for various design parameters; if you come across a true expert, monkey wrench them with real hardware that operates under different parameters such that it violates intuition. Good multi- aspect reasoning is much harder to fake than encyclopedic knowledge. I am looking for two things: the kinds of tools they have in their tool box and their adeptness with the tools they have. The difficulty is in coming up with a good problem for them to use their tools on that does not require specialist knowledge in order to perform well. Not all cases are the same, there are no experts in the wild for some topics as a practical matter and in those cases it is all about their ability to learn arbitrary theoretical domains i.e. the ability to add and incorporate new tools. For more real-world situational experience with products and customers, I draw on the numerous wtf? problems that occurred at various points in my past career. At a minimum you get a sense of how they deal with edge cases, though that may be misleading with respect to their ability in normal cases.
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
Kiran K Karthikeyan wrote: projects I hire for are small (less than 10 developers) and the tech leads double up as project managers in most cases and if the team grows, we get a This is how projects go south. A tech lead cannot double up as a project manager. A classic Indian IT situation where the developer aspires to grow into a Project Manager. The skills needed to be a Project Manager are way different than those needed of a Tech Lead/Architect. Creating a Gantt chart in Microsoft Project does not mean one is equipped to become a Project Damager. In fact, I would strongly encourage people who swear by MSP to unlearn 70% or more of what they have learnt if they have to become successful Project Managers. -V
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
On Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 9:52 AM, Kiran K Karthikeyankiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote: I would be interested to see what questions silklisters use to guage analytical, problem solving, and other skills when you are looking for both a creative and analytical profile. Creative? Surely you are joking, Mr. Karthikeyan. That find the object with the defect with the fewest weighings is a question which any self respecting puzzle solving type should have encountered and digested in their high school. I tend to start with a bunch of easy questions which have well known correct answers to break the ice and gauge the candidate's general abilities and then dig deeper into a couple of areas with open ended questions with not necessarily one correct answer. 'What happens when you type www.wikipedia.org?' is a great question. Thaths -- Homer: Look at these low, low prices on famous brand-name electronics! Bart: Don't be a sap, Dad. These are just crappy knockoffs. Homer: Pfft. I know a genuine Panaphonics when I see it. And look, there's a Magnetbox and Sorny.
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
On Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 2:34 PM, Thathstha...@gmail.com wrote: I tend to start with a bunch of easy questions which have well known correct answers to break the ice and gauge the candidate's general abilities and then dig deeper into a couple of areas with open ended questions with not necessarily one correct answer. 'What happens when you type www.wikipedia.org?' is a great question. Interesting I use that question as the start in every interview. I never get the same answer and I can steer the discussion based on the candidate's answer. I can dig deep as well as concentrate on certain parts depending on what position the candidate has applied. I have seen several experienced people stumble on this question and have them discover that they do not know as much as they think they do. But it helps that I work with an Internet focussed company. So YMMV. In short, I think it is a good icebreaker and open-ended question. -- Vinayak
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
2009/9/8 Thaths tha...@gmail.com On Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 9:52 AM, Kiran K Karthikeyankiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote: I would be interested to see what questions silklisters use to guage analytical, problem solving, and other skills when you are looking for both a creative and analytical profile. Creative? Surely you are joking, Mr. Karthikeyan. That find the object with the defect with the fewest weighings is a question which any self respecting puzzle solving type should have encountered and digested in their high school. Being a self-respecting puzzle solving type, I agree :) But so far, I've not come across any who had the answer instantly. Usually, the entire question takes at least 20 mins (including the solution for the max number for 3 weighings). I tend to start with a bunch of easy questions which have well known correct answers to break the ice and gauge the candidate's general abilities and then dig deeper into a couple of areas with open ended questions with not necessarily one correct answer. 'What happens when you type www.wikipedia.org?' is a great question. When you have 4-5 interviews to do in a day, you don't have the luxury of time to ask the easy questions. You get on the tough ones as soon as possible to save time for the better candidates. Maybe not the best approach, but its the only way possible given whats required. Note that these are not the only questions I ask. There are others testing for similar skills based on their experience. Thaths -- Homer: Look at these low, low prices on famous brand-name electronics! Bart: Don't be a sap, Dad. These are just crappy knockoffs. Homer: Pfft. I know a genuine Panaphonics when I see it. And look, there's a Magnetbox and Sorny.
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
this, I ask them to tell me what is the max number of balls for which the defective can be found with 3 weighings. Have you given a thought to what the candidate thought of you as an interviewer for having asked such questions? ;-)) And would you hire the person if he gave you the correct answers to those questions in 200milliseconds? I would be interested to see what questions silklisters use to guage analytical, problem solving, and other skills when you are looking for both a creative and analytical profile. Are you tricking this list into doing your homework? Well, that's what my analytical skills tell me. Lukhman.
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
2009/9/8 Venkat Mangudi s...@venkatmangudi.com Kiran K Karthikeyan wrote: projects I hire for are small (less than 10 developers) and the tech leads double up as project managers in most cases and if the team grows, we get a This is how projects go south. A tech lead cannot double up as a project manager. A classic Indian IT situation where the developer aspires to grow into a Project Manager. The skills needed to be a Project Manager are way different than those needed of a Tech Lead/Architect. Creating a Gantt chart in Microsoft Project does not mean one is equipped to become a Project Damager. In fact, I would strongly encourage people who swear by MSP to unlearn 70% or more of what they have learnt if they have to become successful Project Managers. I prefer not making project plans. It soon becomes an overhead. Basically the tech lead estimates what needs to get done on a weekly basis and makes sure its done/adjusts next weeks plan if it doesn't get done. There are names for such an approach (SCRUM, Agile etc.), but basically its how you can avoid having to hire an experienced techie who just does MSP when you need every resource you spend money on coding. If you really need to track progress, just use a bug tracker with all features being bugs. Kiran
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
2009/9/8 lukhman_khan lukhman_k...@yahoo.com this, I ask them to tell me what is the max number of balls for which the defective can be found with 3 weighings. Have you given a thought to what the candidate thought of you as an interviewer for having asked such questions? ;-)) No. But why don't you tell me the answer if you think its that simple :) And would you hire the person if he gave you the correct answers to those questions in 200milliseconds? Nobody I've interviewed so far has and I would know if somebody already knew the answer and was playacting. I would be interested to see what questions silklisters use to guage analytical, problem solving, and other skills when you are looking for both a creative and analytical profile. Are you tricking this list into doing your homework? Well, that's what my analytical skills tell me. There is nothing that says I can't use what I learn from others on silklist, or is there? If you're not interested in responding because you feel I'm tricking you, don't respond :). Lukhman.
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
At 2009-09-08 09:52:51 +0530, kiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote: (yes, I make it cubes when interviewing women) Yes, women are incapable of reasoning about spherical objects. Obviously, there is no solution in 3 weighings Oh? Why is it obvious? -- ams
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
2009/9/8 Abhijit Menon-Sen a...@toroid.org At 2009-09-08 09:52:51 +0530, kiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote: (yes, I make it cubes when interviewing women) Yes, women are incapable of reasoning about spherical objects. Oh come on. I can think of a lot of words you would avoid using in an official discussion just so the discussion doesn't become uncomfortable for others. Obviously, there is no solution in 3 weighings Oh? Why is it obvious? Perhaps not the right word. What I meant is it would become obvious very soon if you're used to solving puzzles. Kiran
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
On Tue, Sep 08, 2009 at 02:34:01PM +0530, Thaths wrote: 'What happens when you type www.wikipedia.org?' is a great question. http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=UShl=dev=8PNRrOGJqUI -- Eugen* Leitl a href=http://leitl.org;leitl/a http://leitl.org __ ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820 http://www.ativel.com http://postbiota.org 8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
this, I ask them to tell me what is the max number of balls for which the defective can be found with 3 weighings. Four Since only one has a defect Lukhman.
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
2009/9/8 lukhman_khan lukhman_k...@yahoo.com this, I ask them to tell me what is the max number of balls for which the defective can be found with 3 weighings. Four Since only one has a defect Wrong. 9. If you're interested, I can send you the solution. Kiran
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
--- In silk-l...@yahoogroups.com, Kiran K Karthikeyan kiran.karthike...@... wrote: 2009/9/8 lukhman_khan lukhman_k...@... this, I ask them to tell me what is the max number of balls for which the defective can be found with 3 weighings. Four Since only one has a defect Wrong. 9. If you're interested, I can send you the solution. Kiran OK its five and i was just testing if you knew it ;-)) Lukhman
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
On Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 9:52 AM, Kiran K Karthikeyan kiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote: There are 12 steel (or any other material, the material is immaterial :) ) balls (yes, I make it cubes when interviewing women) which were manufactured to be identical in every way and hence indistinguishable. However, one of them has a manufacturing defect and has either less or more weight that the other 11. Given a weighing scale (with no standard weights), you have to find out which of the balls is defective as well as whether it weighs lesser or more than the others. It's a trick question. If the balls are indistinguishable, there is no way to sort them out unless you place distinguishing marksor keep them in distinguished containers - which would violate the starting conditions. If an airline is thinking of extending an offer where those with miles can for a limited period book for twice the amount of miles they have in their account, what is the best time to do so (considering occupancy rates, costs, any other variable which might influence the decision). Is this also a trick question? How do you book with more miles than you have, unless the airline is advancing miles on credit? Smells like a bubble. -- Aadisht Khanna Address for mailing lists: aadisht.gro...@gmail.com Personal address: aadi...@aadisht.net
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
2009/9/8 Aadisht Khanna aadisht.gro...@gmail.com On Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 9:52 AM, Kiran K Karthikeyan kiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote: There are 12 steel (or any other material, the material is immaterial :) ) balls (yes, I make it cubes when interviewing women) which were manufactured to be identical in every way and hence indistinguishable. However, one of them has a manufacturing defect and has either less or more weight that the other 11. Given a weighing scale (with no standard weights), you have to find out which of the balls is defective as well as whether it weighs lesser or more than the others. It's a trick question. If the balls are indistinguishable, there is no way to sort them out unless you place distinguishing marksor keep them in distinguished containers - which would violate the starting conditions. Well you could always place them and remember where you did and hence distinguish them. Just like you would put milk which was bought earlier seperately in the fridge so that its used up first. But I agree it is a trick question in a way since it doesn't have a solution. If an airline is thinking of extending an offer where those with miles can for a limited period book for twice the amount of miles they have in their account, what is the best time to do so (considering occupancy rates, costs, any other variable which might influence the decision). Is this also a trick question? How do you book with more miles than you have, unless the airline is advancing miles on credit? Smells like a bubble. Nope BA did it last year (I am a member of their frequent flyer club). They do it to make customer use up their miles which essentially entitle them to free tickets. Kiran
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
2009/9/8 Kiran K Karthikeyan kiran.karthike...@gmail.com (you can safely assume that it is the only input into the product which has significant cost variation, and has significant impact on prices). * it being aviation fuel. Kiran
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
Divide into 3 groups, a, b, c. Suffix with 1, 2, 3. What if each of these balls are thirty tonnes? Is it not practical to weigh only two at a time. You are working back from a solution and never attempt to solve it from the problem stage and this itself is unfair to the candidate. The only aim in this line of interviewing is to unsettle/belittle the candidate or put him/her on a backfoot. Lukhman.
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
2009/9/8 lukhman_khan lukhman_k...@yahoo.com Divide into 3 groups, a, b, c. Suffix with 1, 2, 3. What if each of these balls are thirty tonnes? Is it not practical to weigh only two at a time. Of course, and what if they were so light that the weighing pans don't show a discernable difference in level even when the weights on both sides are different? You are working back from a solution and never attempt to solve it from the problem stage and this itself is unfair to the candidate. Working back from a solution? How? Not sure I understand. The only aim in this line of interviewing is to unsettle/belittle the candidate or put him/her on a backfoot. Not at all. I don't reject a candidate for not being able to solve it. I give hints until they reach the solution. I have however rejected candidates for giving up too easily, or citing what-if scenarios in order to avoid solving it, or not getting anywhere even after I give enough hints. Note that I am looking for an ability to solve such problems in a candidate. Kiran
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
2009/9/8 J. Andrew Rogers and...@ceruleansystems.com On Sep 7, 2009, at 9:22 PM, Kiran K Karthikeyan wrote: I would be interested to see what questions silklisters use to guage analytical, problem solving, and other skills when you are looking for both a creative and analytical profile. This is of course apart from questions based on their domain/work experience to guage the same skills, but I use standard questions so that I can compare one against the other if required, especially when the backgrounds and experience vary considerably. The couple questions posed here were problematic in that a person could be familiar enough with those types of interview questions to give an easy response even if those individuals were not particularly good candidates. I have seen those before as classic questions, have built-in answers, and I imagine plenty of other people will as well. At the same time, I don't have really good answers for this. I agree, which is why I ask a question to which there is no solution. Not many candidates expect it, and assume that there is a solution and proceed to solve it. Once they're not able to solve it, not many can confidently state that a solution is not possible. But you can tell a lot with the way they approach the problem. For e.g. if a candidate puts 6 balls on each pan for the first weighing without realizing its a waste i.e you learn nothing new really except that one side might have the heavier and the other the lighter - without eliminating any balls or knowing which of them have the standard weight with which to compare against. The most efficient use of the first weighing is putting 4 against 4 since it conclusively eliminates at least 4 no matter what the scenario i.e. if the pans stay level or if they don't. There are other pointers to indicate their solution approach all through the solution. The second one is just to guage their business thinking. Obviously the airline is doing it (BA did this last year) so that customers use up miles which are sitting in their accounts. And the reason they selected the particular time to do it is because their costs are low at that point of time (you can safely assume that it is the only input into the product which has significant cost variation, and has significant impact on prices). Will respond to the rest of your post soon. This is as far as I got. Kiran
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
2009/9/8 lukhman_khan lukhman_k...@yahoo.com Wrong. 9. If you're interested, I can send you the solution. Interesting, send it. Divide into 3 groups, a, b, c. Suffix with 1, 2, 3. First Weighing a1, a2, a3 - assume pan goes up b1, b2, b3 - assume pan goes down Not addressing the scenario of the pans staying equal since then the solution can be found out quite easily. Second Weighing a1, a2, b1 with c1, c2, c3 - pans are level equal a3 is lighter or one of b2, b3 is heavier a1, a2, b1 with c1, c2, c3 - pans not level (LHS pan goes down) b1 is heavier a1, a2, b1 with c - pans not level (LHS pan goes up) one of a1, a2 is lighter The next step is obvious to find both the defective one and whether it is lighter or heavier than the others. Kiran
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
On Tuesday 08 Sep 2009 9:52:51 am Kiran K Karthikeyan wrote: There are 12 steel (or any other material, the material is immaterial :) ) balls (yes, I make it cubes when interviewing women) which were manufactured to be identical in every way and hence indistinguishable. However, one of them has a manufacturing defect and has either less or more weight that the other 11. Given a weighing scale (with no standard weights), you have to find out which of the balls is defective as well as whether it weighs lesser or more than the others. In India the exam system is like this. You stuff a poor child's head with gobbledygook for a year or more and then give him three hours to prove himself. Then use the result of that test to tell him that he is not good in math or biology and that he need not bother trying to enter a career that requires either. The British invented this system (possibly in the 18th century) I believe to recruit people to work in their colonies - mainly India. And the rest is history. shiv
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
On Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 9:52 AM, Kiran K Karthikeyan
kiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote:
I do a lot of interviews, both for Product Managers and for Tech profiles.
I've had two questions which I've continuously asked, but need to change.
I've enjoyed the responses of various candidates for these questions for
almost 3 years now and it has been very interesting to see how different
people think through them.
Question 1:
There are 12 steel (or any other material, the material is immaterial :) )
balls (yes, I make it cubes when interviewing women) which were
manufactured
to be identical in every way and hence indistinguishable. However, one of
them has a manufacturing defect and has either less or more weight that the
other 11. Given a weighing scale (with no standard weights), you have to
find out which of the balls is defective as well as whether it weighs
lesser
or more than the others.
Obviously, there is no solution in 3 weighings
Hope you did not reject candidates for saying this is possible in 3
weighings. Haven't verified this completely -- it is possible I missed
something. The approach should be obvious, though. (As Thats mentioned,
this is something I first encountered and solved in school.)
(Sorry about the rich text mail. It is an attempt to keep the formatting
for the ASCII art below to keep from getting messed up.)
Divide the balls into 3 groups of 4 each -- a1-a4, b1-b4, c1-c4. Keep aX
balls on the left pan, bX balls on the right and cX ones outside.
a1 a2 a3 a4 b1 b2 b3 b4
W1
/\ c1 c2 c3 c4
Possibilities:
- Pans balance
Implies: One of the cX balls is defective
c1 c2c3 X
___ W2 ___
/\ c4
(X is one of the other balls we know is not defective.)
Possibilities:
- Pans balance
Implies: c4 is the defective ball
A weighing against any other will tell you
if it is lighter or heavier
- Left pan is heavier
Implies one of c1, c2 is heavier or c3 is lighter
c1 c2
___ W3 ___
/\ c3
If the balance now shifts to the other pan, c2 is the
defective ball and it is heavier. If the left pan
continues to be heavier, c1 is the defective ball and
is heavier. If the pans balance, c3 is the lighter
ball.
Getting back to the other possibilities for the first
weighing:
Possibility:
- Left pan is heavier (Same analysis applies if the left
is lighter.)
Implies: Either one of the aX balls is
heavier or one of the bX balls is lighter.
a1 a2 b1 a3 b2 X
___ W2 ___
/\ a4 b3 b4
Possibilities:
- Left pan stays heavier:
Implies: a1 or a2 is heavier or b2 is lighter.
(Those are the only balls that did not switch
sides.) Weigh a1 against a2. If they are equal, b2
is lighter. Or else, the heavier ball is defective.
- Right pan is now heavier
Implies: One of the balls that switched sides is
defective, i.e., b1 or a3. Put them on the same pan
and weigh them against two of the other
non-defective balls. If the pan with a3 and b1 is
heavier, a3 is the defective and heavier ball.
Otherwise, b1 is the defective and lighter ball.
- Pans balance:
Implies: a4 is heavier or one of b3 or b4 is
lighter. Weigh b3 against b4. If the pans balance,
a4 is defective. Otherwise, the lighter one of b3
and b4 is defective.
--
One hundred thousand lemmings can't be wrong.
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
On Tuesday 08 Sep 2009 9:52:51 am Kiran K Karthikeyan wrote: There are 12 steel (or any other material, the material is immaterial :) ) balls (yes, I make it cubes when interviewing women) why? shiv
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
Not at all. I don't reject a candidate for not being able to solve it. I give hints until they reach the solution. But that is not what you said else where. Previously you claimed you never have the luxury of spending more time with the candidates. Lukhman.
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
At 2009-09-08 19:27:38 +0530, kiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote: But I agree it is a trick question in a way since it doesn't have a solution. Alas: http://www.isixsigma.com/forum/showmessage.asp?messageID=13057 http://main.isixsigma.com/forum/showmessage.asp?messageID=36435 (Time to fire some people!) -- ams
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
On Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 7:16 PM, Kiran K Karthikeyan kiran.karthike...@gmail.com wrote: But you can tell a lot with the way they approach the problem. For e.g. if a candidate puts 6 balls on each pan for the first weighing without realizing its a waste i.e you learn nothing new really except that one side might have the heavier and the other the lighter - without eliminating any balls or knowing which of them have the standard weight with which to compare against. Actually I can get there in four weighings by starting with six balls on each scale. (It doesn't lead to an immediate elimination, but you get two pieces of info on the next weighing -- which group of six balls has the errant ball, and whether it's lighter or heavier. You need two more weighings after that.) Why is this approach wrong if you can't get there quicker than four weighings? -- Amit Varma http://www.indiauncut.com
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
On Tue, Sep 08, 2009 at 07:09:02PM +0530, Aadisht Khanna wrote: It's a trick question. If the balls are indistinguishable, there is no way to sort them out unless you place distinguishing marksor keep them in distinguished containers - which would violate the starting conditions. I realize you're just being a dick, but if you record the position in an external observer (which must be obviously present) you can label them just fine by tracking their trajectory during manipulation thus making them distinguishable. -- Eugen* Leitl a href=http://leitl.org;leitl/a http://leitl.org __ ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820 http://www.ativel.com http://postbiota.org 8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
2009/9/8 ss cybers...@gmail.com On Tuesday 08 Sep 2009 9:52:51 am Kiran K Karthikeyan wrote: There are 12 steel (or any other material, the material is immaterial :) ) balls (yes, I make it cubes when interviewing women) why? Would this be a good time to ask your friend Chalapathy, Shiv? Ram Ramakrishnan Sundaram | r.sunda...@gmail.com | +91 99 717 27578
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
On Tuesday 08 Sep 2009 7:16:10 pm Kiran K Karthikeyan wrote: The most efficient use of the first weighing is putting 4 against 4 since it conclusively eliminates at least 4 no matter what the scenario i.e. if the pans stay level or if they don't. This is wrong Six is equally efficient. Whether you check 4 or 6 you can arrive at an exact answer in 4 weighings. This is because whether you choose 4 or 6 it takes a minimum of two weighings to fix the defective ball as being lighter or heavier and narrow its position down to a group of 4 or 6. It takes a minimum of two weighings to find a defective ball once you have narrowed your number down to six balls (or four) and you already know that it is heavier or lighter. Once you are left with three (or two) balls, and you know if the defective one is heavier or lighter, you can find the defective ball in just one weighing. However if you click on I'm feeling lucky it is possible to get the answer in just two weighings provided you just choose two random balls and one of them happens to be defective. So the asssertion that It is obviously not possible to do it in less than four is also wrong. It took me overnight - and about two hours of mental reasoning to arrive at this conclusion shiv
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
On Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 9:56 PM, sscybers...@gmail.com wrote: In India the exam system is like this. You stuff a poor child's head with gobbledygook for a year or more and then give him three hours to prove himself. Then use the result of that test to tell him that he is not good in math or biology and that he need not bother trying to enter a career that requires either. IMO, there isn't much of a problem in the indian educational and examination system in assessing who is clearly good and who is clearly bad at a subject. It is when distinguishing the finer shades of grey that it fails. For example, is someone who scores an 85 in biology necessarily worse off than someone who scores an 87? While the likes of the IITs have the luxury of conducting comprehensive exams to separate the rice from the husks, most universities do not. They use the high school leaving exam results as a good enough proxy that works on the scale they operate in. The British invented this system (possibly in the 18th century) I believe to recruit people to work in their colonies - mainly India. And the rest is history. The Chinese mandarin examination system is considerably older. Thaths -- Homer: Look at these low, low prices on famous brand-name electronics! Bart: Don't be a sap, Dad. These are just crappy knockoffs. Homer: Pfft. I know a genuine Panaphonics when I see it. And look, there's a Magnetbox and Sorny.
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
On Wednesday 09 Sep 2009 6:31:44 am Ramakrishnan Sundaram wrote: Would this be a good time to ask your friend Chalapathy, Shiv? :D
Re: [silk] Interview Questions
On Wednesday 09 Sep 2009 8:01:56 am Thaths wrote: The British invented this system (possibly in the 18th century) I believe to recruit people to work in their colonies - mainly India. And the rest is history. The Chinese mandarin examination system is considerably older. Point accepted. It goes to show that history is written by victors. shiv
[silk] Gold Flake king
This is very cool (although I must admit another reason to send this along was the chance to invoke that subject line). Udhay http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-10346594-247.html September 8, 2009 10:19 AM PDT Diagnosing lung cancer through a simple exhale by Elizabeth Armstrong Moore Breath might be tested to measure more than sobriety if researchers at the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute in Haifa, Israel, have anything to say. They've developed a sensor made from gold nanoparticles that is able to distinguish between the breath of those with lung cancer from those without. The sensing technology, according to lead author Hossam Haick, does not require the exhalation to be pre-treated in any way; the resulting breath test is simple, affordable, and portable. (In existing tests, preconcentration of the biomarkers is required to improve detection.) We demonstrated that our device has a potential not only to distinguish lung cancer patients from healthy controls but also to identify different types of primary lung cancer, Haick told Medscape Oncology. The findings, reported in Nature Nanotechnology, could help screen for and diagnose lung cancer so quickly and affordably that the sensor has the potential to save millions of lives a year, Haick estimates. In patients with lung cancer, studies show that levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can range from 10 to 100 parts per billion, compared to the range of 1 to 20 parts per billion in healthy human breath. Researchers noted that there was no overlap of the lung cancer and healthy patterns, even though there is small overlap in the range of VOCs. Diagnosing lung cancer might be the first of many applications. The potential exists for using the proposed technology to diagnose other conditions and diseases, which could mean additional cost reductions and enhanced possibilities to save lives, Haick says. -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
