This plugin might be useful to you if you write about WordPress plugins and want to be able to show examples of shortcodes usage, but without the shortcodes being processed. The resultant display will be the same whether the plugin or theme providing the shortcode you are writing about is active or not.
The Shortcode Shortcode:
Add a [shortcode] shortcode in the format:
[shortcode]gallery[/shortcode]
This will display on the page as [gallery] instead of actually showing a gallery of the attached images