Are You a Hacker?
Author: iDH Staff
How would you know? If all you know about the word is what you've seen on the evening news, or read in a magazine, you're probably feeling indignant at the very question! But do those magazine-selling headlines really describe what a Hacker is?
Some time ago (MicroTimes, December 1986) I defined a Hacker as "Any person who derives joy from discovering ways to circumvent limitations."
The definition has been widely quoted since that time, but unfortunately has yet to make the evening news in the way that a teenager who robs a bank with his telephone does.
Does that teenaged criminal fit my definition? Possibly. Does that fact make all, or even most, Hackers criminals? (Does that fact make all or most Hackers teenagers?) Of course not! So why is there such widespread misinformation about Hackers? Very simply, it's because the criminal hackers, or 'Crackers', have been making news, while the rest of us are virtually invisible. For every irresponsible fool writing a virus program, there are at least twenty software engineers earning a living "...discovering ways to circumvent limitations." When the much-publicized InterNet worm was released by an irresponsible hacker, hundreds of other Hackers applied their considerable talents to the control and eradication of the problem: the brilliance and creativity brought to this task are typical of the kind of people --- Hackers --- that my definition is meant to describe.
Working on the yearly Hackers Conferences has been a mixed experience: on the one hand, helping to bring together 200 of the most brilliant people alive today, and then interacting with them for an entire weekend, is immensely rewarding. On the other hand, trying to explain to others that the Hackers Conference is not a Gathering of Nefarious Criminals out to Wreak Havoc upon Western Civilization does get a bit wearing at times. Also, trying to convince a caller that repeatedly crashing his school district's computer from a pay phone will not, emphatically not, qualify him for an invitation to the conference can be a bit annoying.
None of this would be a problem if we hadn't let a small minority --- the Crackers --- steal the show, and become associated with the word 'Hacker' in the minds of the general public. The attendees at the Hackers Conferences --- many of whom hold PhDs, and/or are Presidents or other upper management of Fortune 500 companies --- are (quite understandably) very indignant at being confused with these Crackers.
Taking myself as an example --- no, I don't have a PhD, my only degree is from the School of Hard Knocks, and no, I'm not working in management --- when this article was first published [1989] I was writing software for a company that builds medical image processing equipment. My code controls a product that can, and often does, either improve the quality of medical care, reduce the cost, or both. When I develop a piece of software that goes around some limit I feel very happy, and can often find myself with a silly grin plastered across my face. When some ignorant reporter writes a story that equates the work I do with expensive but childish pranks committed by someone calling himself a "Hacker", I see red.
Are you a Hacker? If you want to break rules just for the sake of breaking rules, or if you just want to hurt or "take revenge" upon somebody or some company, then forget it. But if you delight in your work, almost to the point of being a workaholic, you just might be. If finding the solution to a problem can be not just satisfying but almost an ecstatic experience, you probably are. If you sometimes take on problems just for the sake of finding the solution (and that ecstatic experience that comes with it), then you almost certainly are.
Congratulations! You're in good company, with virtually every inventor whose name appears in your high school history book, and with the many thousands of brilliant people who have created the "computer revolution." What can we do about all that bad press? Meet it head on! Tell the people you work with that you're a Hacker, and what that means. If you know somebody whose work habits, style, or personality make them pretty clearly a Hacker, tell them so and tell them what you mean by that. Show them this article!
Meanwhile, have fun finding those solutions, circumventing those limitations, and making this a better world thereby. You are an Artist of Technology, a Rider of the Third Wave, and at least you can enjoy the ride!
