What is a Power User?

I was reading an article by some techie about a week ago (I really don't remember where) that caught my attention. He was talking about how he built himself a Macintosh computer from scratch, and noted that he needed more processor power because he was a "power user." By which he meant that he had many applications open at once. This got me thinking, what does it mean to be a power user?

Wikipedia, of course, has an answer. But for phrases like this, connotations change and they mean different things to different people. I grew up in a household with a programmer and a math professor, both of whom were more than capable computer users, and certainly power users. My parents have been programming since the early 80's, and though recently my mom has only written basic shell scripts to automate her processes, they have kept up with the evolution of programming and computer applications as they have changed. My mom never really closes applications because she needs them for her work: 8 terminal windows (each one has its specific task - one for mail, one for her TEX files, etc.), her PDF reader, internet, a TEX editor, and Finder at the absolute minimum. My dad can have a lot of stuff open, depending on what he's doing. But neither say that having 12 applications open means you're a "power user."

Just looking at applications I have installed, I could have the internet, iTunes, Stickies, Terminal, Messages, and Twitter open without even thinking. When writing a paper, I could easily have a PDF reader,  Pages, and OpenOffice (in fact, when OpenOffice is open I can almost guarantee Pages will be open) open, as well. Maybe even Evernote. And if I'm working on some computer science assignment, add in Sublime Text 2 and Xcode. I guess I could be waiting for a call, so throw in Skype. That's 13 applications. And I can't see myself using more than that for anything. Usually I close things if they're not being used. Just because I only have Sublime, the internet, Finder, and one or two Terminal windows means I'm not a power user? I like to think of myself as a power user. I have Terminal and Alfred shortcuts for everything. I can do basic programming tasks, I know my basics of debugging, and I can help others figure stuff out (though I get really impatient).

So what is a power user? I don't know. But it's not having applications open. It's a knowledge of how your computer works, automating your most common workflows, and being able to navigate applications and operating system without having to reference the help guide repeatedly (but please read the manual when you get the thing), even knowing some tricks and easter eggs here and then (I'm going to exclude my knowledge of word processing applications here - never can find those stupid table settings...). It's taking an interest in learning more about the technology you have, wanting to find ways to improve it. But most importantly, it's knowing exactly when to read the fucking manual.