The article speaks about feeling judged, not actually being judged. I am quite certain that no one at these conferences (or at social networking events of any kind which involved alcohol) cares if someone is abstaining from alcohol.

How are you certain that no one at these conferences makes these sorts of judgments?

One of the examples from the article is:

> When she was a graduate student looking for a job, Medici was especially aware of the conclusions that people might draw from her choices. She's married, and she didn't want people to assume that because she was without a drink, she might be pregnant. A mentor advised her that people could make that assumption, and passed along the club-soda trick.

I can how someone might infer that if a woman is not drinking then she is likely pregnant. I also know that pregnancy discrimination in hiring is a thing - illegal in the US, but still a real thing.

This seems like the sort of judgement that you says doesn't happen. I can't see how you can be sure that no one at academic conferences makes this sort of inference.

The world is really a much simpler place if you assume that any concerns you haven't personally experienced are imaginary.

It's not the the concerns are imaginary, it's that they are inconsequential. Everyone will have an opinion about everything they interact with; this is the human experience. You can't control the fact that others will form opinions about you and your actions, but you can control how you react regarding this.