I’ve had my own fair bit of surprises at ML job interviews, with some rookie interviewers just asking me completely off-topic, basic, irrelevant, or just outright ridiculous questions; that is, after I’ve explained to them in detail what my background is, and what I know, etc.

I always wondered, is there a point at which you’re supposed to stop the interviewer and ask them why they are asking irrelevant questions, or questions that evaluate a fish’s ability to climb a tree? Also, how the hell does a singular irrelevant question determine your ability to perform at the job in question? I’ve always wanted to say something along the line of: “dude, I have no idea what the answer to that question is, and I can’t come up with an answer quickly for you right now; but, there’s a ton of other stuff that I’ve accumulated in my brain, that really truly interests me. Do you wanna maybe discuss those instead?”