I took the path that he's in too much of a rush to learn and that he just needed a solution. (He didn't say it was homework and I'm too busy right now to teach.)

But if you think it's homework and you want to teach him, pointing him to sort without a comment doesn't strike me as wise. Just prompting you to give the right direction and documentation.

It's got nothing to do with TIMTOWTDI, and all about getting you to explain why you recommend your WTDI when sort isn't required.