“I didn't know that” is the best way to learn(blog.benjamin-encz.de)
blog.benjamin-encz.de
“I didn't know that” is the best way to learn
http://blog.benjamin-encz.de/i-didnt-know-that-is-the-best-way-to-learn/
http://blog.benjamin-encz.de/i-didnt-know-that-is-the-best-way-to-learn/
* Nod and pretend you know about it
* Nod, pretend you know about it and go read about it afterwards
* Admit that you never heard about it and extract as much knowledge as possible from the conversation
Moving from the first one to the second one is easy, and you're kind of crazy if you don't. Moving from the second to the third is hard, but once you do it, you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner. I've learned a ton by asking for clarifications on things or asking another developer how he would use [technology x]. People are typically very happy to share things they have mastery of.
Simple way to start: in a meeting full of alphabet soup, ask for clarification on some acronym. Takes a second, the response is also usually just a second or two long, and there's undoubtedly others wondering the same thing. Once you've opened yourself up to publicly admitting you don't know everything, it makes asking future questions much easier.