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Comment by ColinWright | Hacker News Reader

  > "Feigned surprise" (when someone gasps and says
  > something like: "you don’t even know about monads?")

When someone doesn't know about something it's an opportunity for them to learn, and for you to experience again the wonder and excitement of discovering something new. Don't exhibit your superiority just because you've been exposed to something they haven't, seize with both hands the thrill of learning.

https://xkcd.com/1053/

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Tone and context are everything. Let's not pretend this isn't usually passive-aggressive. (And not even very passive passive-aggressive...)

I agree that tone and context are everything, but I don't agree that it's "usually" passive-aggressive. On my team, if someone says "oh, man, you haven't heard about X?" it's usually said with a relish that translates to "dude, you're gonna love this. Check it out: ..."

I guess that means I don't work with dicks.

Agreed - my comment is to emphasize how doing such is a complete waste of an opportunity for everyone.

It's not just an opportunity for them to learn - it's an opportunity for you to learn, as well. There are deeper levels of understanding beyond merely being able to use something, and you can only reach them by the kind of explicit descriptions and breakdowns that teaching a concept necessitates.

"Once taught is twice learned."

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