one of these days i may attend defcon but frankly its an intimidating event where i feel i'm going to look like a fucking idiot every 20 seconds or get hacked and doxxed somehow
idk like i get that i'm a "tech guy" or whatever but there are people with clearly more knowledge than I'll ever have and I'd rather not be put in a room with them because the bad voices in my head start saying mean things to me about myself and it is very frustrating to exist among other tech guys when talking about tech is your only line of communication
If it makes you feel any better, I find this is pretty common among tech folks in general. We all think we're positively clueless when around other people.
It's got to be partially because when we were younger, we were at least sometimes in the more educated on the subject half of the room, and when you repeatedly take the more educated half of that room, eventually you're left with a bunch of people that are no longer super educated on the subject in comparison to each other.
Gotta love being called gifted or even just smart when one was younger, and how much that can damage self-image over time and set someone up for failure and anxiety.
I definitely understand this. This usually happens when I'm around other artists who are clearly MUCH better (and usually also much younger) than me IRL. Bad brain kicks in and tells me that I don't belong at all.
@ZeirosLion god i feel this with younger coders as well, it's very intimidating but also they probably grew up with easier learning situations than i had lol
I know exactly what you mean, but you mustn't think that way!
I've been a couple of times and I've found it great. I've never had anyone laugh at me for not knowing something; on the contrary, everyone is always so excited that they get to share their skill or passion with someone new!
Besides, nobody is an expert in everything. The worlds greatest network security specialist could go to the lock-picking village and be a total noob. Nobody is going to laugh at them for not being able to shim a padlock.
I can also totally support @Dio9sys suggestion to check out B-sides. I've been to a number of events and they are way cheaper and completely accessible/appropriate to any skill level.
I legitimately have "threat research and detection engineering" in my job title and still feel dumb and naive around other tech people. Ot's just one of those things!
My recommendation would be to go to your local BSides event to get a taste. It's really just a bunch of fellow nerds talking about their favorite things
DefCon is full of cool people and they'll be supportive and probably welcoming enough. I know when I go to cons I latch on to people to make friends and do that.
But also - if your brain wont let you bring personal devices - image your computer/phone, factory reset it, and then wipe it daily before you return to your hotel. Or whatever your brain will allow.
Lots of hackers suffer from the Paranoia Brain (including me), but it's worth trying to find the workarounds for your paranoia, because community matters!
Feel free to check youtube.com/watch?v=AsPeB6bc5h… (oh and see a toot of mine right away too xD). Basically the idea that you're gonna be super haxx'd day 0 @ defcon is overblown / ancient news back from WEP wifi security days and prior. Hotel wifi was so primitive in the early-mid 2000s so yes of course it would've been a terrible idea to connect to that then.
Besides that there are some newer and way more fun sounding events it seems like ToorCamp (he's got a vid too) and CackalackyCon.
Arch
in reply to taco, bird/cat ❄️ • • •taco, bird/cat ❄️
in reply to Arch • • •Odoben
in reply to taco, bird/cat ❄️ • • •@arch Only if turning off the radios in phones actually turned them off
Well, surely airplane mode must do that properly, right?
taco, bird/cat ❄️
in reply to taco, bird/cat ❄️ • • •taco, bird/cat ❄️
in reply to taco, bird/cat ❄️ • • •Bluefox Longtail
in reply to taco, bird/cat ❄️ • • •If it makes you feel any better, I find this is pretty common among tech folks in general. We all think we're positively clueless when around other people.
It's got to be partially because when we were younger, we were at least sometimes in the more educated on the subject half of the room, and when you repeatedly take the more educated half of that room, eventually you're left with a bunch of people that are no longer super educated on the subject in comparison to each other.
Gotta love being called gifted or even just smart when one was younger, and how much that can damage self-image over time and set someone up for failure and anxiety.
Zeiros Lion
in reply to taco, bird/cat ❄️ • • •taco, bird/cat ❄️
in reply to Zeiros Lion • • •REX HR0VS
in reply to taco, bird/cat ❄️ • • •I know exactly what you mean, but you mustn't think that way!
I've been a couple of times and I've found it great. I've never had anyone laugh at me for not knowing something; on the contrary, everyone is always so excited that they get to share their skill or passion with someone new!
Besides, nobody is an expert in everything. The worlds greatest network security specialist could go to the lock-picking village and be a total noob. Nobody is going to laugh at them for not being able to shim a padlock.
I can also totally support @Dio9sys suggestion to check out B-sides. I've been to a number of events and they are way cheaper and completely accessible/appropriate to any skill level.
Dio9sys
in reply to taco, bird/cat ❄️ • • •I legitimately have "threat research and detection engineering" in my job title and still feel dumb and naive around other tech people. Ot's just one of those things!
My recommendation would be to go to your local BSides event to get a taste. It's really just a bunch of fellow nerds talking about their favorite things
taco, bird/cat ❄️
in reply to Dio9sys • • •Eric Malves
in reply to taco, bird/cat ❄️ • • •silverwizard
in reply to taco, bird/cat ❄️ • •@taco, bird/cat :verified420: disclosure: I wont go to the US so DefCon is not an option for me
DefCon is full of cool people and they'll be supportive and probably welcoming enough. I know when I go to cons I latch on to people to make friends and do that.
But also - if your brain wont let you bring personal devices - image your computer/phone, factory reset it, and then wipe it daily before you return to your hotel. Or whatever your brain will allow.
Lots of hackers suffer from the Paranoia Brain (including me), but it's worth trying to find the workarounds for your paranoia, because community matters!
Colin
in reply to taco, bird/cat ❄️ • • •Feel free to check youtube.com/watch?v=AsPeB6bc5h… (oh and see a toot of mine right away too xD). Basically the idea that you're gonna be super haxx'd day 0 @ defcon is overblown / ancient news back from WEP wifi security days and prior. Hotel wifi was so primitive in the early-mid 2000s so yes of course it would've been a terrible idea to connect to that then.
Besides that there are some newer and way more fun sounding events it seems like ToorCamp (he's got a vid too) and CackalackyCon.
- YouTube
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