For a while, back in the last decade, interviews for freelance contracts (and for full-time jobs, I assume) were loaded with pseudo-psychological trick questions. One I remember vividly involved a 5-inch high water glass with about 2 inches of water in it.
When asked whether the glass was half full or half empty, the candidate picks their preferred alternative. The half-full optimist gets the job, of course, while the half-empty pessimist is dismissed to consider the error of her ways.
I had a serious problem. I knew which alternative I should choose to get the project contract. But…but…the glass sitting on that desk didn’t fit either situation. It wasn’t half full, it was roughly 40% full. It wasn’t half empty, either, it was 60% empty. What should I say?
If I’d been interviewing for a tech writing job in a research lab, I would have been tempted to say that initial observation indicated the glass was less than half full, but a simple series of experiments would settle the issue, and we could probably get a grant for the study.
This wasn’t a research lab, though, it was a company that provided payroll and benefits management services to other corporations. Strict dress code, rule-driven work environment, hierarchical management structure. I thought for a bit, then asked the interviewer how her manager would answer that question.
I got the job.
~
For a more scientific speculation on the half-full vs. half-empty dichotomy, see this XKCD cartoon:
http://what-if.xkcd.com/6/
