The Drama Over Drama

Recently, someone in the security community opined that she’s not a fan of hugs at security conferences. The pro-huggers didn’t like her comment and used social media to say so.

Also recently, the folks running RSA Conference decided to ban so-called “booth babes.” That led to a very long debate about sexism vs. freedom of expression.

Mood music:

In both cases, someone in the crowd yelled a word that’s been used so much that it’s true meaning has been all but forgotten:

Drama.

Personally, I don’t see any of this as drama. I see it as mostly intelligent people discussing very real cultural matters. They’re not specific to infosec, but since that’s our industry, it’s where the discussion is focused. I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. A lot of good dialogue came out of the so-called “hug-gate.”

The word drama is almost always used these days to describe something people don’t want to discuss. It’s a one-word arsenal meant to shoot down anyone you disagree with. I get shot at a lot. And I’m perfectly fine with it.

What is real drama? Let’s consult the dictionary, in this case the Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s Collegiate: “a piece of writing that tells a story and is performed on a stage”; “a play, movie, television show, or radio show that is about a serious subject and is not meant to make the audience laugh”; or “the art or activity of performing a role in a play, show, etc.”

The stuff being discussed of late is real life. We’re not on a stage, acting in a play. It doesn’t start that way, at least. Often in these discussion threads, the trolls make comments meant to get a reaction out of people. That’s when we go from discussion to drama. And those who start it are usually the very people who decry something as drama in the first place. The Facebook thread on booth babes is a perfect example.

I love you people. I’m proud to be in the same industry with you. But if you don’t like a topic, maybe you should just ignore it instead of sticking around to make trouble. You’re free to do what you want, of course. But don’t think for a second that these issues will go away because you said something snarky.

In fact, your snark simply ensures that the discussion will continue and that it will become drama where none previously existed.

Captain Kirk yelling

Metal Made Me Smarter Than I Appeared

I was never considered a particularly smart kid. I didn’t care much about my school work and was written off by some teachers as a waste of space. But according to a new study about smart kids listening to heavy metal, I was apparently just pretending to be stupid.

Mood music:

A study of more than 1,000 of the brightest five percent of young people found that intelligent teenagers often listen to heavy metal music to cope with the pressures associated with being talented.

Stuart Cadwallader, a psychologist at the University of Warwick, presented recently findings. The research found that, far from being a sign of delinquency and poor academic ability, many adolescent metalheads are super bright and often use the music to help them deal with pressure.

Researchers polled 1,057 members of the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth. Asked for their favorite type of music, 39 percent said rock, 18 percent R&B and 14 percent pop. Six percent said metal and a third rated it in their top five genres. Metal fans acknowledged having lower self-esteem and more trouble with family and friendships.

As part of the study, Cadwallader held an online discussion with 19 academy members, 17 of whom were metal fans. They said they listen to bands like System of a Down, Slipknot, Tool, DragonForce, ¡Forward Russia! and In Flames when they’re in a bad mood and use it to vent frustration and anger.

Now, truth be told, I wouldn’t say I was particularly smart as a kid. But I did have talents, including drawing and writing. I also had a ton of trouble relating to my peers and getting along with family. The music absolutely helped me. At the least, it gave me an outlet for my anger that might have otherwise been spent punching people in the face.

I’m always happy to see studies like this, because it shows I’m not alone and never have been.

Double-neck guitars