It felt like attending parties in the past was somewhat good for me (though not as much as I expected before I started going to more parties) for keeping up to date on what is going on and what various people (including people who are otherwise too busy/intimidating for me to schedule one-on-ones with) thought about topics of my interest. If I went to zero EA parties, I guess I would be at a disadvantage compared to people who are similarly competent but go harder on networking.
It felt like attending parties in the past was somewhat good for me (though not as much as I expected before I started going to more parties) for keeping up to date on what is going on and what various people (including people who are otherwise too busy/intimidating for me to schedule one-on-ones with) thought about topics of my interest. If I went to zero EA parties, I guess I would be at a disadvantage compared to people who are similarly competent but go harder on networking.