Two engineers prep for the same cycle. One solves more than 500 problems and freezes when the medium doesn't look like anything from the practice list. The other solves a fraction of that and works the problem out from scratch on the screen. The variable that decides which way it goes isn't volume. TL;DR Volume practice builds memory of specific problems. It builds little of the skill that recognises which technique applies to a problem you've never seen. Learning science calls these near transfer (familiar problems) and far transfer (unfamiliar ones). Volume practice mostly trains near transfer. Real interviews test far transfer because the problem isn't labelled and won't match anything in the practice bank. Recognition is trainable. The training is explicit: read the problem for triggers, name the pattern, then write code. On the next problem you face, the recognition pass takes 30 seconds before you touch the keyboard. That pass is the gap.…