>Well... unless you did a good job explaining the algorithm for generating Pascal's triangle in simple terms I'd probably fail given the pressure.
How's this for simple terms? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PascalTriangleAnimated2.gi... It's on Wikipedia's page for Pascal's triangle. If your response to that page is to have your eyes 'glaze over' to the point where you can't find the animation (which has a simply-worded caption explaining the triangle), why should someone want to hire you?
I'll tell you why anyone would hire me if you can answer my simple question about the relative efficiencies of the top-down versus recursive solutions. You've already had an hour and claim to be familiar with the problem space, so I think it's a fair measure of your suitability in this space.
I'm going to go for coffee, but there's a whiteboard right there. Shouldn't take more than a minute or two.
How's this for simple terms? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PascalTriangleAnimated2.gi... It's on Wikipedia's page for Pascal's triangle. If your response to that page is to have your eyes 'glaze over' to the point where you can't find the animation (which has a simply-worded caption explaining the triangle), why should someone want to hire you?