Once we’ve learned something, we often forget what it was like to not know, and how hard it was to learn. This “curse of knowledge” can impact the way we interact with our colleagues and our mentees. This can lead to frustration, miscommunication, and sometimes equating competence with knowing potentially obscure definitions. I’ll talk through “magic” things about code and programming that we often forget, and how it impacts those we interact with: whether it’s the colleagues on our team, partners in other organizations, or interns and mentees. I’ll present real-life stories from my own experience, and strategies I’ve used in the past to ensure that everyone is on the same page. I’ll also make fun of myself, and present ways that I’ve used to ask questions that intimidate me - questions I think I really should know the answer to.