I think it really pertains to using merkle trees. If you take a deep look into how bitcoin actually is implemented merkle trees are the base with which it is formed around.
I have no issue with the DS/A questions myself, but their use use and arbitrary nature of acceptance as right or wrong coupled with the ability of the interviewer's own bias to take it in whichever direction they desire is full of land mines. And I had never thought of ease with which the process could be undermined even if it where to be improved.
Ignore it at your own peril. I've hit it head to the point of self testing its existence. I was floored by the situations, comments and outright unprofessional treatment I've received while interviewing with the top companies, Amazon and Apple among them. And they are not alone. Smaller companies can be much worse.
See how long you last playing those games. Who in their right mind, other than the desperate among us, would work for a company that would do such a thing?
I commend you for pointing out what they don't, or can't, see. I have all but given up countering the "I'm invincible" crowd. However, I'm very empathetic to the view point, I myself held it at one time - at one time.
Consider yourself lucky. It's never happened to me. I've only been charged numerous cancellation fees. Im starting to think i can just walked there faster.
Just this week I was at a McDonald's for morning coffee amd walked in on a guy going balistic at the employees... because CNN was on the monitors. He was yelling at them to turn off the "fake news." It was at that point that I realized just how bad this is about to get.
I'm in the process of researching alternatives to conventional housing. It's a fascinating area to research. The alternatives, particularly with regard to new building systems and modes of living, are available at reasonable cost. The road blocks in the way are breaking with tradition/mindset and filling the gap with regard to rent seeking revenues both public and private, but mostly public in the form of property taxes.
I see us being on the cusp of a change in attitudes and the way we value housing.
And therin lies the situation. WSJ is worth very little to the very many. I see it as just another editorialized website. Was it always that way? No. Paper editions of the wall street journal were very good, on occasion. Web editions in the new age of journalism, not even close. No where near worth even trying to go around their paywall.
Says it all that you make a good point and are still getting down voted. This industry is very nervous about something and it's my belief it has more to do with what's coming next.
I've been in situations like this as well. It's crazy to sit across from someone in an interview and think to yourself, "This person has no idea and I'm not going to let them in on it."
I have been at this since the early nineties and can't comprehend that someone can be a developer and not have any experience with How to set up and administer the environment. I guess it's a normal thing now?
I recently questioned someone about this very subject. They wanted to hire a "CSS expert" because the "developer" didn't have a grasp of css after having developed the project in JS/HTML. I was so confused as to how that's possible.