> I have just reached a point in my life where I will not be made to dance to the whims of the interviewer,
I think this interview style sends a signal, a lot of requirements that a programmer has to implement at work are made up ad-hoc/in an arbitrary manner. the message is that one is not supposed to question requirements too much and 'just do it'. (at least the filter is good enough to filter out a person who questions things)
That's lightyears apart from the interview bullshit.
On the job questions come with a context, or if not with someone who can offer context, or at least some guidance. (In the worst case you can ask your boss WTF to do. And maybe you'll get the answer, I don't know, and it's not important, it's up to you, etc.)
But never does the question what should this thing we're building right now will do in 5 years comes up without the answer, huh, good questions, but we have absolutely no idea, so we need more data and a shorter time-frame, and let's call up Gartner, Gordon Moore, Gardner and Tetlock, and maybe a few fortune tellers while we're at it too!
The problem is not the question, it's a fine question to start a discussion in the right context. (Maybe even during an interview. But it's not a "Q&A with tweetable answers" type question.)
I think this interview style sends a signal, a lot of requirements that a programmer has to implement at work are made up ad-hoc/in an arbitrary manner. the message is that one is not supposed to question requirements too much and 'just do it'. (at least the filter is good enough to filter out a person who questions things)