Very interesting post and very interesting answer from Athanasius. I can't give you an answer, except to tell you that you should be careful before accepting a job if you are offered one. When the recruitment process becomes crazy, you've got to worry before making a decision.

I also remember a recruitment process where I had to go though nine interviews. In the end, I was not taken. It turned out it was probably good for me: the company was the French subsidiary of a rather large British company. A couple of months later, the British company was bought over by a very large French company (the world leader in its industry sector) and, soon, a number of the local employees of the British subsidiary were laid off. Rather happy that I did not make it in the first place, but, still, nine interviews, it is almost a nightmare.

with a few questions directly out of Damian's "Higher Order Perl"

Just for the record: Higher Order Perl is by Mark Jason Dominus, not Damian. Or maybe you were thinking about Damian's Perl Best Practices