> Younger, more inexperienced developers should be looking, number one, to work with people who know a ton more than they do so that they can learn from the greats

Do you know anyone who actually learned this way? I, and others I know, learned mostly from reading (docs, books, code, tutorials, etc.). Great developers who are actually working don't want to be interrupted every time some inexperienced person needs help.

I also find presentations at conventions to often be painfully slow at conveying information. I can read in 5 minutes what it takes a presenter 30 minutes to talk about, and further, I can get answers to specific questions that always pop up when a presentation glosses over the details. Plus, if I already know something about it, I can just grab the knowledge "diffs" rather than sitting through 15 minutes of introduction.

Google is the #1 tool I use when programming.