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Whenever someone advises "don't do this", it's usually pretty easy to come up with valid reason to do this. Fine. The lesson here is either avoid the sinkhole

by pbreit 10y ago

Whenever someone advises "don't do this", it's usually pretty easy to come up with valid reason to do this. Fine. The lesson here is either avoid the sinkhole of conferences/events. Or, if you are so inclined to go, make sure you understand that unless you are extremely focused and efficient, it is likely to be a waste of time for you.

cableshaft 10y ago
Fair enough. It's also very easy for people to treat what she says as gospel and go "I must not go to a conventions because this very knowledgeable person who has much more experience than I do said they're not useful. So therefore they must not be useful." It goes both ways.
- pbreit 10y ago
  Except that you'd be better off following that knowledgable person's advice. People think it goes both ways but it generally doesn't. And that's the trick.
- secstate 10y ago
  Ay, but it's kind of the like the road out of a forest fire. Sure, you can go both ways, but if you don't know what the hell you're doing, or are even experienced, but not an expert, best to follow the directions of those around you.
- HeyLaughingBoy 10y ago
  If someone is really going to take the advice of a person they've never met so completely literally, without considering its nuances, then I suggest that they're headed for failure anyway. Sure, it's easy to treat it as gospel (it's also easy to not think about what you're doing); doesn't mean it's a good idea to do so.
- sbov 10y ago
  It's somewhat circular reasoning, but my view would be: if you're so inexperienced such that you will blindly follow her advice then you should blindly follow her advice. If you aren't so inexperienced such that you don't blindly follow her advice then you're probably OK to not blindly follow her advice. This is basically true for every field ever. Generally recommended practices are most important for beginners. Once you're experienced you can start recognizing when it isn't applicable. Beginners oftentimes aren't experienced enough to apply nuanced advice, and nuanced advice oftentimes is masqueraded as general, rather than nuanced, advice. Somewhere inbetween people might get lost but I feel like approach this gets the majority of people on the right track.
  - pbreit 10y ago
    But in this case, there are a lot of somewhat experienced people who (mistakenly) think conferences are likely to be valuable. Those are the folks who would be wise to listen to such advice.
Cpoll 10y ago
I'd like to echo this. If you're not experienced enough to know when it's okay to break the rule, you shouldn't break the rule.
- SilasX 10y ago
  Similarly, if you're not experience to know when it's okay to break the rule, you shouldn't be repeated the rule, because you haven't absorbed why it exists and intelligently talk about its limitations. A smart person knows the correct answers, but a really smart person knows when they wouldn't be correct.
- taneq 10y ago
  Sadly if you're not experienced enough to know when it's okay to break the rule, you probably don't know whether or not you're experienced enough to break the rule. That experience comes from breaking the rule and living through the outcome.

by pbreit 10y ago

cableshaft 10y ago

Fair enough. It's also very easy for people to treat what she says as gospel and go "I must not go to a conventions because this very knowledgeable person who has much more experience than I do said they're not useful. So therefore they must not be useful." It goes both ways.

pbreit 10y ago
Except that you'd be better off following that knowledgable person's advice. People think it goes both ways but it generally doesn't. And that's the trick.
secstate 10y ago
Ay, but it's kind of the like the road out of a forest fire. Sure, you can go both ways, but if you don't know what the hell you're doing, or are even experienced, but not an expert, best to follow the directions of those around you.
HeyLaughingBoy 10y ago
If someone is really going to take the advice of a person they've never met so completely literally, without considering its nuances, then I suggest that they're headed for failure anyway. Sure, it's easy to treat it as gospel (it's also easy to not think about what you're doing); doesn't mean it's a good idea to do so.
sbov 10y ago
It's somewhat circular reasoning, but my view would be: if you're so inexperienced such that you will blindly follow her advice then you should blindly follow her advice. If you aren't so inexperienced such that you don't blindly follow her advice then you're probably OK to not blindly follow her advice. This is basically true for every field ever. Generally recommended practices are most important for beginners. Once you're experienced you can start recognizing when it isn't applicable. Beginners oftentimes aren't experienced enough to apply nuanced advice, and nuanced advice oftentimes is masqueraded as general, rather than nuanced, advice. Somewhere inbetween people might get lost but I feel like approach this gets the majority of people on the right track.
- pbreit 10y ago
  But in this case, there are a lot of somewhat experienced people who (mistakenly) think conferences are likely to be valuable. Those are the folks who would be wise to listen to such advice.

Cpoll 10y ago

I'd like to echo this. If you're not experienced enough to know when it's okay to break the rule, you shouldn't break the rule.

SilasX 10y ago
Similarly, if you're not experience to know when it's okay to break the rule, you shouldn't be repeated the rule, because you haven't absorbed why it exists and intelligently talk about its limitations. A smart person knows the correct answers, but a really smart person knows when they wouldn't be correct.
taneq 10y ago
Sadly if you're not experienced enough to know when it's okay to break the rule, you probably don't know whether or not you're experienced enough to break the rule. That experience comes from breaking the rule and living through the outcome.