I was on a 'visual storytelling' panel at last year's conference and, although 600+ people attended the session, only about 1/3 of them were actually "listening" to us! Blame Twitter.
Tackling monster challenges -- where failure is the expected outcome because you lack the credentials to succeed -- can be addicting. It's a win-win situation, like being the underdog in a fight: you're expected to lose, but win and you're a hero.