Techno Palsy - Technopalsy

TECH'NO'PAL'SY n. s as z. to be fully relaxed and use a machine without reading a manual or even thinking.
When technology continues to be as half-well designed as it is, a certain about of nouse; intuition or rough intelligence is required of the user for the working thereof.
Thus persons with technopalsy are to be found mostly staring at a piece of ABS plastic in puzzlement. Not all such stares are indicative of the full-blown version of the affliction.

The most useful test, called 'Frost's you-really-blown-it-now test', is conclusive proof. The test is based on the fact that many gismos [ibid] have hidden key presses to reset the device or put it into maintenance mode or go where it shouldn't.

To the most ordinary geek-type person, these key presses are hard if not impossible to find without a manual.

On the other hand, the confirmed technopalsied will find the correct key combination within a few minute's use of the device. Hence a Windows PC will be 'accidentally' made to start in safe mode; or it will lock-up trying to download a large file; a digital clock will hop between date-view and time-view; a television will retune itself and seek new channels; an ipod's software will crash; a coffee machine will discharge coffee pretty much everywhere.

Definition from Roger's Dictionary of the English Language, 2005.