I'm saying the syntax for throwing an exception in Java is trivial, and that there are many programs you could write where throwing your own exceptions is irrelevant.

Focusing on the precise reason I don't know Distributed Objects is really a red herring. I was trying to give a personal example of where I could be criticized for not knowing something simple. The point is that it's simple to learn, just like the syntax for throwing exceptions. But I don't know it because my experience just hasn't taken me there yet.

Basically, what you're seeing here is just a lack of experience with real-world Java programming. It's like knowing all the cross-browser compatibility gotchas in JavaScript. Not knowing this doesn't indicate a deeper problem with their education, because the point of a computer science education is not to teach every piece of Java trivia. As they gain experience, they will easily pick up all the trivia that's relevant to their job, and the other trivia (like Distributed Objects) will remain unknown.