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Comment by 12907835202 | Hacker News Reader

I find conferences help my imposter syndrome immensely. I remember being at a conference and thinking it was all so incredibly basic, then looking around and seeing people scribble notes and feeling a huge sense of relief.

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For me what does it is going to talks I barely understand then asking questions to some colleague that attended with me and seeing they are struggling as much as I.

Now I feel bad, considering I'm one of those guys who takes a lot of notes during a talk.

A lot of us probably take notes to keep our attention from drifting. Also, most talks have at least a nugget or two about something I hadn't quite thought of that way before.

Personally I have to "prove" that I took something away from the conference to justify the expense to my company. I take a lot of notes, even if it's basic material, because it allows me to copy the flow of the presentation for when I inevitably have to show that I learned something back at work.

The paradox of expecting to take away something incredible and profound from a conference lies in the idea that the anticipation and pressure to have a profound experience can overshadow the actual experience itself. This could lead to an unsatisfactory outcome, becoming too focused on finding meaning rather than being present.

Maybe mention this as your take away from your next conference.

Eh, I'd rather just play the game and get to travel, socialize, eat, and learn cool new stuff for free.

I've had similar experiences. In some cases it was a talk that was way over my head and seeing people who I viewed as way above me also struggling. In some other cases it was like you describe, seeing talks that I viewed as elementary boggling the minds of many attendees. Granted other times I was befuddled and no one else was. So the real lesson is everyone has different strengths & weaknesses.

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