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.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."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:> The last three times you faced a "build or buy (/use open source)" situation, which did you choose, and why?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.