Both...
I think it's rather that you need a good sense of logic to even notice - let alone truly appreciate - the absurdity of certain situations.
i guess i used it as a "warning" to other people. like "hey! i'm weird! that means if i do something awkward, it's no problem because it's expected!"
now, i am just myself, and too bad if my persona bothers people ^_^ it's a straightforward no-bullshit type of thing. free
Have them program something in the interview. Watch them use their chosen text editor as they work through your problem. Have them run their program and watch them iterate through a few code/test/debug cycles. Once it's working, ask them for a minor but logical improvement, and watch their reaction. Dread at having to go back to the code, or gusto in making it better? How fast can they go back and edit their own code?
For whatever job you're hiring for, have them do the job as part of the interview process.
Interestingly enough, the analysts don't get it, the PMs sometimes get it, but the programmers most always get the allusion. I should start putting something about cats in there...or perhaps parrots pining for the fjords.
* like Monty Python and absurd humour
* prefer dogs
* bad at painting but likes and is good at photography
* like science fiction movies but havent read mnay SF-books
* know what grok means now but didnt before reading the article
I think pg would agree.
> VB Tech Journal
> January 1998