<i>But the researchers found that the students' jam expertise could be easily undermined by making them fill out questionnaires explaining their preferences. Some of the worst-tasting jams (at least according to Consumer Reports) were now ranked the highest.</i><p><i>What happened? The scientists argue that "thinking too much" about preferences caused the students to focus on all sorts of variables that didn't matter, such as the texture of the jam or the presence of strawberry seeds.</i><p>This might have something to do with why most so many tech interviews seem to go so horribly wrong -- especially those that try to apply a standardized "quizzing cage" approach to filtering candidates. Everyone is too busy trying to ding the candidate on the basis of their response this or that contrived filter question to simply connect with them as a human being, feel their energy, and get a sense of what they're really about.