We live in a world with new and constantly evolving information. What’s more, almost all of the information is freely and instantly available. No more libraries or finding really smart people and then asking them. It’s crazy to think of life before the internet. With this kind of power, I am sure there are 8-year-olds smarter than me. Not many, but a few. 
However, Geek knowledge and terms seem to be an acquired skill set. Whether through hobbies and interests or jobs (and rare cases of osmosis). Geeks often forget this and become embarrassed and frustrated when they have to explain something which sees like a simple definition to them. For the record, I am not a huge Geek, by Geek standards. I have never even seen Unix. I use standard FTP. I use shared web hosting. I still pay for software. I am scared of coding in C++.
But compared to the average joe (who only understood 3 of the last sentences), I am an uber Geek. See the difference?
I recently went into a store and said Unicode by mistake (This is when I was checking out the Google G1 Phone). I felt embarrassed for even mentioning it, quickly explained what it was, and then went about my business. However, should I be embarrassed by others’ lack of really basic Geek knowledge? It seems the other way around for me. Whenever I don’t know something, I feel embarrassed and then educate myself afterward. It seems the rest of the world works the other way.
Here are a few terms which should be universal geek knowledge:
Google, Wikipedia, Instant Messaging, Linux, Kindle, Wifi, Bluetooth, Starbucks…
Come on, you already know this. Even my Dad has a Kindle (and he doesn’t even own a computer).
I won’t explain what the following things are. We’ve established that everyone knows what Google is (I assume that’s how you ended up here ). If you don’t know what any of the following is, you know how to copy and paste is into Google and educate yourself. Don’t worry I’ll keep it quite simple. 
Unicode
SMS
3G
Metric System (This could be an entire article )
Zip File
Rar File
VPN
HTML
Flash
Bit
Byte
GUI
Minimize a Window
Close a Window
I could go on for hours, I bet several readers here could too. But I can hear some arguments already about ‘Why anyone would need to know what any of these stupid acronyms mean?’ Once any of these are explained to you (through Google or Wikipedia), it usually becomes apparent that you already know what they are and understand the concept, you just didn’t know the word. Now you do. Being informed feels good, doesn’t it?
(Those last two may seem funny to you (and me), but I have honestly met many people who use a computer and do not know the difference between these two elementary tasks.)
Teaching people how to use computers is an altogether different challenge.
If you have any terms which you think should really be universal Geek Knowledge. Add them in the comments.
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