The Microsoft Interview was a pioneer in that it was about technical knowledge, problem solving and creativity as opposed to the goal and weaknesses interviews most companies used at the time.
Initially based on Bill Gates' obsession with puzzles, many of the puzzles presented during interviews started off being Fermi problems, or sometimes logic problems, and have eventually transitioned over the years into questions relevant to programming. Puzzles test competitive edge as well as intelligence. Like business or football, a logic puzzle divides the world into winners and losers.
You either get the answer, or you don't... Winning has to matter. Joel Spolsky phrased the problem as identifying people who are smart and get things done while separating them from people who are smart but don't get things done and people who get things done but are not smart.
Initially based on Bill Gates' obsession with puzzles, many of the puzzles presented during interviews started off being Fermi problems, or sometimes logic problems, and have eventually transitioned over the years into questions relevant to programming. Puzzles test competitive edge as well as intelligence. Like business or football, a logic puzzle divides the world into winners and losers.
You either get the answer, or you don't... Winning has to matter. Joel Spolsky phrased the problem as identifying people who are smart and get things done while separating them from people who are smart but don't get things done and people who get things done but are not smart.