Pieter Klapstok How do you know his gym and it's entry isn't exactly south of his front door with no obstacles and the tredmill was straight through the gym door facing west? Also he is walking in the direction of West just happens to be that he is on a treadmill n only walks so far forward.
I think these type of answers are the type of answers Elon is looking for. Answers that are different from any previous answer, but makes logical sense.
Yeah that's a smart ass answer of someone who thinks that they think outside the box but totally missed the engineering aspect. The dude does rocket science. Has nearly 1000 satellites in low orbit. You walking in place facing west doesn't mean you walked a mile west.
Tecnicaly your answer isn't wrong. Just because you don't know the answer doesn't mean you are stupid. You may not been able to solve the problem, but you were able to invent an alterative to the wished answer, wich is also right, even thou it's just referending to the the question. So you found to an locical question a socialy/psychologicaly good answer. At least in my opinion. You can also now call SpaceX stupid, becasue they did not specifie their question, they did not ask, for what location their wish an answer for. Is it a piont on earth, a country, or space itself? Furthermore they thought in a narrow pattern, because they only thought of a single point of earth and didn't even acount space itself, becasue tecnicaly erath is moving itself! So now you go, you are smart and SpaceX is stupid. Congrats!
The question is: how do you orient yourself? Do you use a compass or a gps? If you use a compass then your starting point is the magnetic north pole. If you use a gps your starting point is the geographical north pole.
My answer as well. You could argue semantics. No matter what location you started 'standing on the surface of the earth', after moving a mile south, west than north and stop, you will return to where you started (State wise not Location wise), which was a state of 'standing on the surface of the earth'. All be it you may also end up standing on the surface of the earth at the bottom of an Ocean depending on location wise, which would quickly turn you into the state of 'drowned on the surface of the Earth'. lol
Your so fucking stupid the Earth is not perfectly round therefore your wrong the only two places this would be possible is the north and south pole because the Earth is in fact a oval read up kids
I prefer the phrasing "You walk 1 km south, the west, then north. You end up in the same place you started. Then you see a bear. What color is the bear?"
I had an interview for a Senior level Engineer with SpaceX but did not get that specific question. First of all, you have to write a SCAR story of 5 instances of your greatest achievements. A SCAR story contains the following items 1) Situation, 2) Challenges, 3) Actions (taken), and 4) Results. You also have to prepare a PowerPoint of one of those projects to present to a large panel of SpaceX leadership. The most memorable question I had after the presentation was 1) "How did you KNOW your solution would work for that project." The answer I gave was "Everything is probability and the goal is to ensure you identify the risks you are facing, prioritize them by severity, occurrence and detectability and come up with backup plans for these area where I could not prevent failure until the risks become within acceptable limits". The 8 panel group (various supervisors) seemed to think that was a reasonable answer. Another one was a walk through the factory and they pointed to a very complex gadget and said, "We have been having problems with this assembly, it keeps doing "blah blah blah" (Signed an NDA, cannot disclose), what would you do to fix it? The interview was 5 hours long and with 6 different people (separately). The SpaceX facility is an amazing place to work, but your work life balance will be more work than life, but that was what I was looking for. BTW, the reason the question works with three turns is that the longitudinal lines are triangles at the North Pole. Every longitudinal line meets at a single point at the North pole. So making three turns will return you to the same location. You would essentially walk a triangular path while still being in 3D North, West, East South space.
doesn't that mean there are four answers, or an infinite number of places you could start and end? or i guess the physical poles would cause some problems with the rhetoric of "north" and "south." but in terms of pure geometry i'm pretty sure either answer could be applied anywhere on the earth. riddles confuse me.
I remember one of my college buddies asked me this question and on the spot I said you could be on the North Pole to be able to walk such distances and direction in order to end up on the same spot. It's not genius thinking, it's common sense.
Thats just brilliant. You are hired!! Ive yet to form the company, but Im thinking of building a massive needle in Egypt, and charging rich men to walk through its eye on a camel, to allay their Christian guilt. Your answer was the most impressive (the question set no time limits) XD
The question is wrong. It's not specific enough to exclude multiple right answers. Therefore "on the surface of the Earth" is as correct as any other answer. Just trying to argue that I was right.
There are many questions in the engineering fields that don't provide enough information to make the answer an exact number. Instead, what happens is you normally get a relative ratio of two or more variables that need to be met. Your answer is like finding that ratio, technically correct, but there are more things you can do to limit the possibilities down to a more manageable level. An example is the resonance of LC circuits. f = 1 / (2*pi*sqrt(L*C)) There are an infinite amount of choices for f, L and C that satisfy the equation. However, your f is limited by your signal source, and capacitor and inductor values are made specifically at certain values, so there's not actually an infinite amount of values you can practically use. That is the job of an engineer to determine while also keeping the rest of the system operating correctly.
This is a behavioral question designed to see who can think outside the box. There are much more than 2 answers My 1st thought was, on the surface of the earth as well, that is thinking outside the box, but how far out of the box can you think? I love the "Home. Walked one mile south. Made it to the gym. Walked west on the treadmill. Then walked north back home." answer lol! @Sukhdeep singh brilliant!
The reason the question works with three turns is that the longitudinal lines are triangles at the North Pole. Every longitudinal line meets at a single point. So making three turns will return you to the same location. You would essentially walk a triangular path.
The more accurate question would ask the direction relative to what definitive point. You could also end up where you started if the plane you walk on is moving in opposite vectors.
It's true this is a question he likes to ask, when I was interviewed by an interviewer for a job at his company, she asked me the same question; My response was '' Why can't it be another planet instead '' I got the job. :D
There are many answers to this question. Depending on how argumentitive you want to be, you could say different things. I could answer "The Equator" and then argue that even though the exact position isn't the same i'm still exactly where i started, the equator. My answer was the North pole though. After that I didn't spend time thinking about the south pole thing which was quite clever of them ^^
The reason the question works with three turns is that the longitudinal lines are triangles at the North Pole. Every longitudinal line meets at a single point. So making three turns will return you to the same location. You would essentially walk a triangular path.
Trick Question. The earth isnt a perfect sphere so it would be impossible to end up exactly where you were? And even if you started at geographical north pole, if you used a compas to navigate to the direction you were given, you would never end up in the same place since magnetic north and geographical north never meet.
To many variables to consider before answering this specific question.people don't always assume that when an intelligent person makes a statement or gives an answer to a riddle that is the only correct answer, believe in your own ways of solving a problem and compare. I am a big fan. great things to come I believe.
I doubt he stills asks that question. Pretty much everyone who applies has already read Ashlee's book (which is stupidly good by the way, read it. NOW!!!).
No one, even Musk, go this right. No matter where on earth you would do this N/S/W trip, you'll end up in a different location because... Earth is orbiting around sun. In absolute value, the answers are wrong as the question lacks of a "context". therefore, as it is, the only viable solutions are linked to your moving speed relatively to earth orbital speed OR something implying a wormhole. That's systemic thinking guys, and that avoid rockets from blowing up :p
You're moving one mile on the surface of the Earth. Planetary rotation means nothing because you're on the surface, with the rotation, moving a measurable distance on the ground.
Matt Shillam the question is not "where are you on the surface of earth" it's "where are you". when a question lack of contextualization, it's whether a bad question or a question which implies an absolute answer. therefore, in this case the absolute position of someone depends on earth motion across the universe
Matt Shillam that's not part of the question. a question start with a Cap and end with a question mark. all sentences before the Cap is not part of the question. So what you're quoting isn't the question.
3rd possible answer could be the equator. If you are standing on the equator and walk 1 mile south, 1 mile west, and 1 mile north, you will still end up on the equator, just not at the exact same point of the equator. 4th possible answer could be anywhere. Maybe you are walking on a treadmill that is on a platform that rotates 90 degrees every time you walk a mile. Therefore, after walking a mile with the treadmill facing in the south, west, and north directions you are still in the same location on the treadmill.
+Davis r It really doesn't have anything to do with what answer you give. The idea behind these questions is to show someone's thought process and how they approach new problems
If you use a compass, it is not exactly the geographic north pole (true north) that you start from, it is the magnetic north pole, which is now moving towards Siberia.
Call me crazy but of you started walking south at the point of the earth where it rotates then walked west then north again you'd end up 1 mile west (or less/more depending if we take in account the rotation of the earth) from where you started. The angle of curvature that you walk of all three distances should cancel each other out and meaning you ended up 1 mile west.
You can't talk about earth while you are in spaceX because it is all about mars. 100 years of elon 100 years of tesla 100 years of me The mind investor F^ck you
3rd Answer: The circumference near the South Pole is not limited to 1 mile, but rather 1/n where n equals the number of rotation(s) the traveler makes in a circle (n has to be whole numbers). This means that the starting points are the outlet circle that is 1 mile North away from the inner circle with a circumference of 1 mile / n. Of course, we are only considering the space aspect and not the time element, which make the answer rather interesting. The SpaceX project would require the calculation of both time and space. There need to be many hidden figures behind the scene to make this operation successful.
romeoneverdies Not true. Elon Musk may be intelligent, but he is a better manager than a Scientist. Its a character property to take the lead and your intelligence only defines how much you will reach.
Since there wasn't any rules, i'm going with an arbitrary answer. The answer is on a treadmill. Face the treadmill south, and then run for a mile. After a mile run, stop and face the treadmill west and start running for a mile. After the 2nd mile, stop and face the treadmill north and start running for the last mile. After you run for 3 miles, you end up exactly at the same spot. (You technically run/walk on a treadmill) If you can fly, however, you might do it under a certain velocity relative to the speed of the earth's rotation. It is possible because it is stated that you have to travel westward, while the earth's rotating eastward. It's actually stretching the rules, but it was a fun way to solve it. But then again, it's impossible to do that. The earth orbits the sun, so it's kinda hard to find the exact place, since our position in space will never be the same in our lifetime.
I got both answers almost straight away without pausing the video. If these are the questions he askes in the interview then it would be the worlds easiest interview (I should apply for Space X). I always get stuck on the hard questions e.g. "where do you see yourself in 10 years time?" - "I don't know I'm not a time traveller", "What are your weaknesses?" - "I am shy in social situations"...but I can't tell you that as this is a social situation and I'm too shy to admit my weaknesses to you...I just met you (seriously what is the correct answer to this question).
1 more solution - (if you allow going towards north pole when he is less than 1 mile above south pole and vice versa) > circle of radius (1-1/2pi) above south pole
The idea of a question like this being used for qualifying a candidate is rather ridiculous to me. Elon is obviously a brilliant man, and must know there are all different kinds of ways people process information, and a multitude if different ways brilliancy is manifested. There are many very smart people, people with talents which could be very beneficial to Elon's projects as an engineer or theorist, who when presented with this question would not think of both answers. Some valuable candidates might even be confounded with it. Some people who could give all the right answers to the question could be worthless as a contributor. I can't imagine someone as successful as Elon would be judging candidates in such a narrow, boxlike way, for he simply would not be successful. Maybe he likes to ask such a question to get an idea of how someone processes, or how they go about attempting to answer the question. But to think he would use that as an objective rating tool reveals someone doesn't think Elon is very bright at all.
Elvin Motz I'm sure it's not a 1 question interview. How you answer this question is more important than the right answer quickly which really only says you've heard the question before. If you ever find yourself in this situation, act like you've never heard it and pretend to think a while, before giving both answers.
I do strongly agree with this, Elvin Motz. However, part of me does also strongly agree with another commenter who said Musk just wants to weed out flat-earthers. I honestly don't believe if some applicant could not solve this question that Musk would not hire them. Just as long as that applicant says "the earth is a sphere, flat-earthers are worthless retards, but I'm too busy to solve your problem", Musk would hire them.
Simple: You are where you started. He asked the question, he gave the answer and then He asked for the answer. The question was not to give the reason why you ended up on the same spot after walking for miles. You could have been in a treadmill.
You end up where you want to end up because as long as you walk those distances you can pick any point on earth to start and thats where you will end up...
luke martinez Do you think I'm lying? Look it up, see who's right. It isn't a linear down curve but the first mile, the Earth curves 8 inches. For a kilometer, 8 centimeters.
Answer 3 is one mile away from the south pole because moving westwards when on the pole doesn't make any sense so you can leave it out: One mile south and one mile north.
But wouldn't the simple answer be anywhere since 1 mile isn't that huge. You just end up completing a square at the end of the game so does it even matter if it's north or south? Someone please explain
Now in my understanding the smallest length possible is the planck length. Smaller then that has no meaning. Therefore a mile divided bij the planck length will give you the amount of starting points around the south pole and that is not infinite (though I'll admit it's a ludicrous large number). So the statement in the video saying there are an infinite number of starting points around the south pole is wrong. Correct me please if I'm wrong.
I simply thought that it was a trick question. "You are standing on the surface of the earth" so, just like we always are. If you walk out your front door and walk 1 mile south, 1 mile west and 1 mile north, you will be about 1 mile east of where your house is and started from. As for him saying you are back where you started, the answer to that is simply, no I am not. Just because someone tells you that something is a certain way doesn't mean it is.
The second answer is incorrect because (at least implicitly) all "straight" paths should correspond to geodesics on the sphere. The circular path in the second answer is not a geodesic.
the only reason you end up at your original location is because you traveled in the shape of an equilateral triangle, which can be done anywhere on Earth (not just north pole). If you traveled in the shape of a "U" then you would not end up at your original location. The key is in the shape of travel.
so according to your answer if i do the exact same steps i end up where i started , how come the rotation of the earth affect me as a person while its draging me with it and not affect planes that fly accross it nulifying all the gravity force ?
It's a matter of perspective actually, because if you are looking at a globe, you might have these answers as well... But if you are walking in the south or north pole without a compass, and also you are able to walk perfectly in straight lines, you would not end up on the same spot
when earth is considered a sphere, isn't it possible that if you take any one point on the sphere (it would be similar to the north pole example ). technically there is a possibility that you would able to come back to the same point after walking one mile each in the south, west and north direction. (although i do agree, directions are in relation to the poles)
Its not because the earth is round, of that where the case you could point to the ground under you anf just say "here". Its because of polarity and how a compass wouldnt direct you in a straight line when youre trying to move horizontally that close to either pole.
There is actually just one answer... And that is the North Pole! Because the South Pole option can start at *ANY* given point on that outer cirkel, so you can't actually give him a single, definitive answer to his question! The theory is a nice try, but overcomplicated and subjective. Because your position depends on where you started. And that is *NOT* the South Pole, but some point (on that outer cirkel) that you just pulled out of a very dark place... And *then* you need to tell to him where on that cirkel you started and explain why you chose that point, instead of the infinite number of other options you had... Only the North Pole gives you one simple, indisputable answer.
What about on a mountain top. You start at the top and walk south (down he mountain) walk west (across the mountain) and walk north (back up the mountain) you end up back at the summit. Idk, it might work on a perfect mountain
Or you can walk on an equilateral triangle that is 1 mile in all lengths. walk in the general direction of south from the northern tip of the triangle, to the south, along the dide, west along the side and back to north along the side. This gets to your destination you started in, your walking in the same general direction and making your doritos :)
Yep, I got the first answer And the concept of the second before seeing the answer. So I can work for Tesla but apparently not even for a supermarket where I live. Good video! One thing though: How are there an 'Infinite' number of starting points?? The Earth is a finite surface. Much as Pi can be 'infinite' purely because it can be decimated as far as electron microscopes can see, it is not actually so. A point can be as small as is subatomically possible, but even then, the interviewee certainly cannot be.
Its a bit misleading showing the image of the compass. Using a compass the answers only work if you use magnetic north and magnetic south, as they aren't quite at the poles.
I'm a bit floored by how easy this was. just the context of the question made me think 'well it's going to have to be somewhere where the rules for north and south stay the same but east and west change'
The only Ans Is North Pole. The condition doesn't apply on South Pole. As it's said sequentially: Walk South , Walk West, Walk North. If you start going south from the southern most tip, you will actually be going towards the north. Food for thought
Now, there are 3 answers. A 2D plane. I look forward to reading this book. I'm also on a quest for a fantastic future :) Mitakuye Oyasin (All my relations)
You arrive back at the same line of latitude is the most correct answer - try this for standing on the equator. (small angle approximation req for all ans regardless)
I think the first answer is wrong, 1.- earth doesn't curve that much in 1 mile, so the effect wouldn't be observed walking those distances. 2.- what is special about the North Pole?, if you assume the earth is spherical its curvature is the same everywhere, so that would happen everywhere. 3.- Excepr, that earth isn't spherical its actually flattened at the poles, so in fact poles are where that doesn't happen .
Wouldn't anywhere be the answer? Assuming south is down, west is left and north is up. A sphere is uniform no matter where you are and the poles are just magnetic fields. Taking into consideration that the earth is stretching towards those, will of course change the result, but then again should altitude also be in the calculation then?
The video text says quote: "You walk one mile South, one mile West and one Mile North" according to this you will be standing 3 Miles away from the point you've started ,and even if the text would included another Mile East, you would be 2 miles away from your starting point... nvm just saw that the following pages were part of the question stating that i will be at the same spot Nothpole would be correct
i'm not in north pole, i'm not in south pole, i can do the same in ANY part of the world, any latitude, any longitude with a properly designed treadmill, basically the treadmill flips to north/south/west once reached 1 mile goal, or simply with a jetpack (since the question asked for WALKING, i fly back to the starting point once reached the 1+1+1 mile walking goal). Elon i'm unemployed at the moment, feel free to contact me =)
If you are using a compass it actually points to the magnetic south pole which is 810 km from the geographic north pole so actually the answer would be the magnetic south pole
'You are standing on the surface of the earth' At the North pole you would be standing on a sheet of floating ice. As has been said, it is not possible to walk West from the South pole. Therefore the only correct answer is 'Exactly where you started'.
My thought was "you could be on the north pole, or you could maybe be on the south pole but I would have to think about that more". The fundamental thing is the middle westward move has to be centred around a pole and does not matter which pole it is. So to me it seemed like that might be somehow possible to get back to the same spot at the south pole too (the north pole one is easy of course)..The actual solution was very weird though and not intuitive, so I wouldn't have gotten it in real time. in an interview..
If you started at the peak of a mountain that was at least a mile high, it'd also work. Mile south down the mountain, mile west around the mountain, mile north back up to the peak
The question never said where on the surface of the earth. Just said "You're standing on the surface of the earth." No matter where or how far you walk you are still on good old planet Earth.
I'd have said Equator, because 1 mile south and 1 mile north equals no mile walked and because the Equator is a circle around the earth, you can go as far as you want East or West and you will still end up standing "on" the Equator :D
Mathematically there are an infinite number of correct answers. One at the north pole and infinitesimally small slices around the south pole at 1+(1/pi) miles from the south pole. There are other distances as well where your 1 mile east or west or whatever does multiple laps around the south pole rather than just one lap. Quantum mechanics however tells us that there is a minimum distance one thing can be from another thing for that distance to exist at all so the number of starting locations is not infinite, just tremendously large.
Elon doesn't interview each person anymore. You get interviewed by a group of people who don't seem to know where they're going. They want YOU to show them.
it's all about spherical coordinates(r,theta,phi) for those ppl who think but still can't find the reason. that's because your are thinking in cartesian coordinates (x,y,z). you are using an inappropriate coordinate system for a planet. both questions can be answered using this. hard to explain spherical coordinates without drawing it out.
