Comment by jcadam | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jcadam | Hacker News Reader

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> I am a software engineer and I was once asked during an interview at a large hedge fund to pick a side and debate why war is justified.

Heh, I actually wouldn't have minded that too much - but in addition to being a software engineer I'm also a former Army officer.

In any case, I think such a task can be relevant, if you're working in a fast-paced and competitive environment (esp. one with a lot of non-technical staff) you need to be able to hold your own in an argument. You wouldn't want to be the guy who is always right but gets overruled 99% of the time because you're unable to persuade others.

> ...but socio-ethical problems are way outside of my wheelhouse.

Mine too, and probably 99%+ of the world's population. But that doesn't stop most people from having strong opinions on subjects they don't understand.

> you need to be able to hold your own in an argument

Then you'll hire a bunch people who like arguing about things they aren't qualified to argue about. I'd much rather have a coworker who admits what they don't know and is willing to learn about it rather than someone who is willing to vigorously argue in support of an arbitrary position.

Great point, but I could imagine this being a test for many different traits. One might be that the interviewee would be entertaining to argue with. It's anyone's guess what really motivated the interview topic.

> You wouldn't want to be the guy who is always right but gets overruled 99% of the time because you're unable to persuade others.

On the other hand, I don't want to work in a group where the right answer only gets picked if it's backed by someone with an assertive personality.

Not clear on how showing that you're willing to argue a position that you don't have any background or evidence to support is a positive.

Perhaps it is useful in any industry where a key competence is convincing people of things that are not true.

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