Learn by losing.. anyone doing that?

[justaname]

I think one of the best methods to learn is by doing.. but hand in hand with that, is to learn by failing. So I was wondering - is there a group, some assembly of learners / mentors who try this approach?

I'm talking about, for example, you setup a server. You do what you think is great to get it up and running. Nothing fancy per say, you're not trying to make a pretty website. You're learning config, security, function. Then the others in the group try to slap your face off by doing all they can to try and break it. You learn from that and them, what you missed, and thus develop yet another layer of awareness and learning. You start again.

I know that probably sounds a little nuts, but I think some of the best lessons that I learned and stick with me is from those terrible mistakes - you know you won't let yourself make such a mistake again right?

[GregBrannon]

You've described most of my academic career.

The learner you describe didn't set out to fail but to do the best he could. Others were standing by to point out how the best he could do fell short. That's not anything unusual, at least not to me.

[DementedSnake]

Well, I suppose that could sum up my knowledge of Linux. I only need to learn about things when something breaks. I don't know if anyone uses that method to teach though.

[hazel]

One of the best things about Linux imho is that when something breaks, you can usually fix it yourself (with a bit of help from the forum folks) and you always learn something new from the experience. When something breaks in Windows, the fix is either some mysterious registry hack that you have to follow blindly, because no-one understands the registry, or "just reinstall". Either way you learn nothing and are left feeling totally incompetent. Even so, I'd rather things didn't break - or at any rate not too often.

[nujinini]

You've described most of my academic career.

Hey!

I was about to say that...

[ryokimball]

In the security sector, this is what some people get paid for --pen(etration) testers air paid to attack your system, expose flaws, and sometimes help fix them. This is a big money business in when it comes to software and network security (especially in the 'private sector').

I can't think of any specific group or community that says "hey, let us attack you!" (I'd imagine script kiddies would thrive in such public areas) but I imagine befriending some nice pen-testers would do you good in this way. It has helped me a'plenty, at least.