Thanks for replying. I simply wanted to know what kinds of problems you worked on. A binary tree can be inverted presumably on any OS and using most languages. If you're going to claim that a basic binary tree operation has not be necessary for you in your 25+ year career, you should have mentioned your problem (!industry) domains. It was nothing personal.
>and if you think that having studied up on it so that you could pass a Google interview means that, a few years down the road when you actually need it you'll just whip it off the top of your head, then I think life may hold some surprises for you.
That is a misrepresentation of what I said. I said that _RETAINING_ basic and higher order CS fundamental knowledge is much more useful, in a way that simply looking up an algorithm on wikipedia would not be.
>> That is a misrepresentation of what I said. I said that _RETAINING_ basic and higher order CS fundamental knowledge is much more useful, in a way that simply looking up an algorithm on wikipedia would not be.
Sorry it was not my intention to misrepresent you. I was assuming that we all agree that simply looking something up without having any fundamental basis for understanding would not be of much use, and that we further assume the person doing the searching is in need of a refresh, and not basic education in the craft. In that context it is the idea that you might be called on to go up to a whiteboard and trot out something you haven't done in three years, and then be judged competent or not based on how successful the trotting is, that gets people worked up.
>and if you think that having studied up on it so that you could pass a Google interview means that, a few years down the road when you actually need it you'll just whip it off the top of your head, then I think life may hold some surprises for you.
That is a misrepresentation of what I said. I said that _RETAINING_ basic and higher order CS fundamental knowledge is much more useful, in a way that simply looking up an algorithm on wikipedia would not be.