When Dartmouth College launched the Basic language 50 years ago, it enabled ordinary users to write code. Millions did. But we've gone backwards since then, and most users now seem unable or unwilling to create so much as a simple macro
In January, we began interviewing candidates for the software manager position.
As soon as the guy walked into the room, I knew it was going to be problematic, because he seemed extremely straight-laced and uptight, dressing more like an insurance salesman than a technologist.
I could tell that Steve was losing patience when he started to roll his eyes at the candidate’s responses. Steve began to grill him with some unconventional questions.
“How old were you when you lost your virginity?”, Steve asked
The candidate wasn’t sure if he heard correctly. “What did you say?”
Steve repeated the question, changing it slightly. “Are you a virgin?”. Burrell and I started to laugh, as the candidate became more disconcerted. He didn’t know how to respond.
Steve changed the subject. “How many times have you taken LSD?”
The poor guy was turning varying shades of red, so I tried to change the subject and asked a straight-forward technical question. But when he started to give a long-winded response, Steve got impatient again.
“Gooble, gobble, gobble, gobble”, Steve started making turkey noises. This was too much for Burrell and myself, and we all started cracking up. “Gobble, gobble, gobble”, Steve continued, laughing himself now.
At this point, the candidate stood up. “I guess I’m not the right guy for this job”, he said.
“I guess you’re not”, Steve responded. “I think this interview is over.”
Steve Jobs doing a hiring interview in Apple’s early days:
https://folklore.org/Gobble_Gobble_Gobble.html?sort=date