How to weed out the non-programming programmer
scoopshot.comTrivia is not a good way to find a programmer, Trivia is a good way to find someone good at Trivia. The best way to find a programmer is to sit down with them and have them walk you through a project that they built. Ask them what part are they most proud of and ask them what part they would change, why they would change it and how they would change it. Other than personality questions their is nothing more that you need to ask to gauge their ability to program.
The answer is not the point, the ability to find the answer is the point. That is not trivia, that is problem-solving.
If that is the case then that is fine (in my book), Googling to find info on a subject is a very relevant skill, even though it is frowned upon in interviews for some reason. In my perception, it does come off as if they are looking to hire people that have that kind of trivia in their head.