Apparently, researchers have come up with 12 question test (I’m not linking to the research, because I don’t want to give the answers away) to determine if someone’s likely to make a decent programmer or not, prior to them ever having been taught anything about programming – a fundamental difference in the way that people who make decent programmers think. Nothing to to with IQ, or any other skills, just a quirk of thinking.

Me, I think it’s toss.

I present here, the first and last questions from the test, for you lot to have go at. I’ll be interested to see if there is a big difference between the programmers and non-programmers on my friends list. I’ll let you all know how it turns out.

Question 1:
a = 10;
b = 20;
a = b;

Question 2:
a = 5;
b = 3;
c = 7;
a = c;
c = b;
b = a;

(Edited to add: these are the questions and exactly as much info about them as presented on the test. Make whatever assumptions you like about them. I’m screening comments so as not to have other people’s answers prejudiced….)