Elon Musk has a 'favorite' riddle to ask during job interviews — and even smart people fail to solve it
Elon Musk is known for establishing firms such as SpaceX and Starlink among other innovative ventures, and he expects similar creativity from candidates during job interviews. Instead of asking the typical questions like 'Where do you see yourself in five years?', the CEO of SpaceX is well-known for coming up with a mind-bending curveball. According to reports, Musk tests the interviewee's ability to solve problems under pressure and uncover their genuine potential by asking a tricky riddle. They may be asked to solve this riddle at the interview if they are hoping to get a job with SpaceX.
The riddle goes, "You’re standing on the surface of the Earth. You walk one mile south, one mile west, and one mile north. You end up exactly where you started. Where are you?" Presh Talwalkar, the creator behind the YouTube channel MindYourDecisions, posted a video breaking down the solution to this puzzling question. In the caption, he wrote, "This puzzle is a classic brain teaser that was asked at Microsoft. It is also one of the favorites of Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal and Tesla Motors." Talwalkar went on to reveal that the riddle has an infinite number of possible correct answers.
The most popular solution is the North Pole, where if you walk a mile north, then a mile west, and finally a mile south, you would trace a triangular path back to where you began. Reporter Alex Bellos also offered his take on cracking the riddle. He pointed out that there are countless locations near the South Pole where walking a mile south, then west, and finally north, will bring you right back to your original spot. He added, “Consider the circle of latitude near the South Pole that has a circumference of one mile. From any point on this circle, walking one mile west along this circle will take you back to that same point. Thus, any point a mile north of this circle of latitude is a solution to the problem."
As reported by The Guardian, Bellos further said, "But there are more points too: Consider the circle of latitude that has a circumference of 0.5 miles. Any point a mile north of this circle is also a solution. Indeed, the solutions are any point one mile north of a circle whose circumference is (1/n) miles for all n." Given SpaceX's ambitions of sending humans to Mars, employees must exercise critical thinking and provide creative solutions. Musk has already discussed how he hires people who can solve problems. The tech mogul revealed at the World Government Summit in Dubai that he tests applicants in interviews by asking them about the most difficult issues they have encountered and how they overcame them.
As reported by CNBC, Musk uses this question to determine whether a candidate took responsibility for problems and their solutions or if they were only a minor component of a bigger team effort. Additionally, he also uses this question as a means of eliminating dishonest applicants because truthful applicants are more likely to give thoughtful, in-depth replies, whereas vague ones may raise suspicions. Musk employs this strategy to reduce the number of applicants, but in the end, he wants workers who exhibit evident exceptional talent.