The Mother of All Interview Questions
> Does your process involve invention? If so, please describe the three most recent things you have invented and why it was necessary to invent something new.<p>If you're asked this in an interview, you can't respond "no". If I were being interviewed, I'd hear it as somewhat like "Do you like unicorns, which are awesome? If so, describe your three favorite awesome activities with unicorns."<p>Which is fine, if you're on one of the teams that likes to innovate, but I'd just suggest that there's probably a more neutral phrasing that might allow a candidate to respond "I prefer to use existing solutions to problems, and here's why". Maybe:<p>> The last three times you faced a "build or buy (/use open source)" situation, which did you choose, and why?<p>Which may give you a better grasp of how the employee understands the economics of the situation, rather than just asking him to talk about the last three times he chose "build" given that choice.