Evidently writing about the FizzBuzz problem on a programming blog results in a nigh-irresistible urge to code up a solution. The comments here, on Digg, and on Reddit—nearly a thousand in total—are filled with hastily coded solutions to FizzBuzz. Developers are nothing if not compulsive problem solvers.
It certainly wasn’t my intention, but a large portion of the audience interpreted FizzBuzz as a challenge. I suppose it’s like walking into Guitar Center and yelling ‘most guitarists can’t play Stairway to Heaven!’* You might be shooting for a rational discussion of Stairway to Heaven as a way to measure minimum levels of guitar competence.
But what you’ll get, instead, is a blazing guitarpocalypse.
Somehow, the other responses to this comment reminded me of that.
Jeff Atwood also makes this meta point about blogging about fizzbuzz:
Somehow, the other responses to this comment reminded me of that.
Somehow, I believe this is my fault for having mentioned trying it myself, and for that, I apologize.