Reading this thread I got to think of a certain fortune cookie. It goes like this:

"I went to a job interview the other day, the guy asked me if I had any questions, I said yes, just one: If you're in a car traveling at the speed of light and you turn your headlights on, does anything happen? He said he couldn't answer that, I told him sorry, but I couldn't work for him then."
-- Steven Wright

It is a joke, of course, but I find that it holds quite a bit of truth in it. It is the tradition that the (potential) boss quizzes you to find out if your skills are ok. But (for me, at least) it is also important to find you if my new boss (and my new co-workers) are smart guys (and gals). Chances are, that if you are the kind of person who reads Knuth for fun, you will be happy and work effectively with other people who share your interests. I am not bashing people who find physics or math boring -- just saying that people with similar interests usually communicate more effectively and hence have more fun at work.

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