Errr... if you concluded that "language trivia is useless" was the point, I think you fell into the actual trap the essay was trying to warn against. For example, broad knowledge of language trivia would be a positive attribute when hiring someone to design a language.
The point, I think, is that asking interview questions without understanding why the questions are appropriate is worse than useless - it's actively destructive to the end goal of hiring good people.
You can generalize this Cargo Cult behavior to any field - blindly carrying out activity without understanding deeper principles is likely to produce undesirable results.
The point, I think, is that asking interview questions without understanding why the questions are appropriate is worse than useless - it's actively destructive to the end goal of hiring good people.
You can generalize this Cargo Cult behavior to any field - blindly carrying out activity without understanding deeper principles is likely to produce undesirable results.