It sends me into morbid down spirals. I'm almost angry and don't see the point of this. Why not ask for a Nobel Prize in theoretical physics. Two actually.
The answer to this typically is: even if you've never done these kinds of problems before and would not need to solve them during your employment, still go prepare, study and that would show your commitment to work hard and ability to learn. To which my (mental) response is: why don't you ask me to dance ballet for you? That would show a real commitment!
