Early on in my career, I worked for a secret unit of a secret government law enforcement group that handled surveillance. Being young, full of verve, and not nearly as smart as I thought I was, I was always trying to improve things and tinker. Knowing nothing about networking, I plugged a switch into itself. Due to the configuration it knocked the entire surveillance network offline and everyone was freaking out. I was cool as a cucumber, because it couldn’t have been me. Must have been a coincidence right?

Right?

The sense of dread the dawned on me as the former Navy Seal turned Network Engineer (and later doctor) started sniffing around the switch I had just touched was palpable. Luckily for me, He kept my mistake quiet and fixed it quickly.