"Most hackers are willing to explain terms. Be ready for condescension; it's not intended as an insult, but if you don't know the words, she probably has to talk down to you at first to explain them."
If you are being condescending, you're Doing It Wrong. For the most part people who don't understand computers aren't stupid, just ignorant.
Yes, but the problem is it's hard to know exactly how ignorant the person you're explaining it to is.
For example, I recently had to explain just-in-time compilation to a manager. If I had launched into an explanation like "well, it's dynamically translated, so the compiler is generating machine code at runtime," I would've gotten a blank stare in return. So without knowing where the holes in his knowledge were, I had to begin with "OK, so you know code is like a big list of instructions, right?", which I'm sure came off as condescending.
"Most hackers are willing to explain terms. Be ready for condescension; it's not intended as an insult, but if you don't know the words, she probably has to talk down to you at first to explain them."
If you are being condescending, you're Doing It Wrong. For the most part people who don't understand computers aren't stupid, just ignorant.