- know exactly what you mean by "C++ has support for garbage collection"
- have the chapter-and-verse citations from ISO C++ ready if someone disagrees
- understand the limitations of what is required in the document, and be the first to point that out
- and have a good idea of some of the landscape in terms of what of those requirements is implemented in the wild
Been there many times. Including when a room full of programmers laughed at me for suggesting randomizing a list prior to using quick sort because "it messes up the big Oh complexity"
(Yes yes I know there are simpler ways to handle quick sort attacks but that wasn't why they were laughing)
I am not able read that into the anecdote presented in the original comment.
"My background is Biology so there were a few remarks about how "a biologist just doesn't know these things, lol""
There are so many arguments that I could have won, if I had just had an evening to mull it over.
I'm reminded of the movie Annie Hall where Woody Allen is waiting in line...
Alvy: [Hearing a man behind him rambling about Marshall McLuhan]
What I wouldn't give for a large sock with horse manure in it.
[Turns to the camera] What do you do when you get stuck in a
movie line with a guy like this behind you? It's just...maddening-
Man in Theatre Line: [Notices Alvy and walks up to him] Wait a minute,
why can't I give my opinion? It's a free country!
Alvy: Did-did he, he can give you- Do you have give it so loud? I
mean, aren't you ashamed to pontificate like that? And the
funny part of it is, Marshall McLuhan; you don't know anything
about Marshall McLuhan!
Man in Theatre Line: Oh really, really? I happen to teach a class at
Columbia called "TV, Media, and Culture." So I think that my
insights into Mr. McLuhan, well, have a great deal of validity!
Alvy: Oh, do ya? Well, that's funny, because I happen to have Mr. McLuhan
right here, so, so, yeah, just lemme lemme lemme — [pulls McLuhan
from behind a nearby poster stand] — Come over here for a second.
Tell him!
Marshall McLuhan: I heard what you were saying. You know nothing of my
work. You mean my whole fallacy is wrong. How you ever got to
teach a course in anything is totally amazing.
Alvy: [To the camera] Boy, if life were only like this!I do not say this as someone who believes this represents healthy behavior or that wants to write C++ for a living. They've been like this since #C on EFNet and FreeNode were a thing 30+/25+ years ago. My guess is they got the behavior from Usenet or something but I didn't hang out there so I don't know first-hand.
In this situation, those others were not exactly wrong. It was about OP proving also not being wrong.
If people in your organization think you said something stupid, that could be bad for your opportunities there.
If you say something which is correct, but the correctness depends on some unusual conditions that are not well known, or special interpretations of common concepts, or some context that is not shared with whoever you're talking to, you have to either not mention that, or spell out those details.
If you posit that pigs do fly, don't forget the detail that it's when they are shot out of a cannon.