IMHO, if we administered IQ and emotional maturity tests to people and took the top 10% no matter what their degree status or knowledge base, we'd be an order of magnitude ahead. I was once at a startup that did this and we took some fresh college grads who were first-chairs - and they became phenomenal developers in six months - they could read and learn by reading, they had phenomenal concentration, great work ethic, could take criticism, and they were fun to be around.
This concept is so 90s and is how I got into the tech world. How a lot of people did for that matter. For the most part the concept is gone but for some companies developed out of the hate for corp. politics it still lives on. My husband works for one such company and they still live in the '90s'. It is fast paced but they take care of their employees. I never saw why it was a flawed system. Yes you got some dead weight, but what system doesn't?
