The ones that don't know Python going into it are typically locals. I had lunch with two Atlanta residents last year that were big C# guys but their job wanted

The ones that don't know Python going into it are typically locals. I had lunch with two Atlanta residents last year that were big C# guys but their job wanted them to learn Python. They sent them to a few tutorials and picked out a few talks that they wanted them to learn about, then the rest was up to them. This number is lower, but I've talked to a few newbies that travel to PyCon as an educational tool paid for by their company. They've usually done a tutorial or two on the web, but they'll load up on the in-person tutorials and then hit whatever relevant talks they can find.