>He did tell us to use the word “epoch,” but not before explaining what the word meant and that it was not, in fact, the same word as “epic,” to a room full of native English speakers. He then proceeded to opine on what he thought the Latin roots of the word might be, which I’m convinced to this day he was making up on the spot.
It would've been lovely if someone had directly interrupted this "John" anytime he attempted to expound extensively after being asked a minor clarifying question. This sort of person shouldn't be tolerated, not even by employees.
Every dev team I've been on has always had one person that readily answers any minor or rhetorical question without missing a beat. I thought they were universal but maybe I have just been lucky.
"epoch" actually comes from Greek :)