Why I Never Worked at Google: The leetcode interview.
Often in my feed, I see these “coding challenges” that aim to stump with arcane syntax. I guess the idea is that if you know some rarely-used, unintuitive phrase, you must be really good at programming.
That’s strikes me as like saying if you know what “dumplings over flowers” means in Japanese, you can have a meaningful conversation with someone in the language (instead of looking for ways to work that into a conversation.)
Also, as someone who definitely does not have a very functional rote memory brain, I’ve always found that stuff very gatekeepery feeling. See my rants about the misguided leet code interview.
Enter The World's Greatest Notebook
The good news is that AI is filling that gap. I no longer need to memorize secret incantations. It’s even more important now to describe what you want to accomplish, potential pitfalls, and how it all fits into the mission of the organization. Between AI and intellisense, you are mostly in the role of guiding over detailed implementation. This has dramatically changed in the last year or so.
Progress Isn't Without Its Victims, But It Can Be Positive for Many
This has got to be as scary to those who have hitched their wagon to memorization as value proposition as AI is to clickbait writers or surrealist painters. Mona Lisa wearing a baseball cap? Done.
Now, come up with an interesting story written in beautiful language. That’s different. Regurgitate a bubble sort in Scala? Yawn.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m sad to see any human skill lose its value, but the glass is half full. I’m also encouraged when I see first-hand new technology being used to enable those previously locked out due to procedural (or mental or physical) weaknesses to contribute in truly human, creative ways.