undefined | Better HN

0 pointsJohnFen2y ago0 comments

Being a hacker has nothing to do with how far up the stack you operate. It even has nothing to do with software or computers specifically.

Traditionally, being a hacker is being a person who is very interested in learning how things work, and how to use those things in new ways. Historically, proper hackers have focused on things ranging from model railroads to pay phones to bureaucratic systems, to computers and more.

The most common early sign that a child is a hacker is when the child takes apart every machine they can lay their hands on.

0 comments

rlpb2y ago

> Traditionally, being a hacker is being a person who is very interested in learning how things work...

I am aware, and I agree.

> Being a hacker has nothing to do with how far up the stack you operate.

I disagree. The workings further down the stack are interesting only to hackers, and those paid to work in that area. I think that's quite different from the reasons for interest further up the stack.

jasonm232y ago

I think you may have missed the point, and I apologise, if I didn't infer your thought as it was intended.

At any level of the stack, the hacker mindset of "learning how things work...(and utilizing that knowledge)" is generally applicable.

It's arguable that while, say, Steve Jobs wasn't a technically adept hacker, he was a business, product and people/behavior hacker.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse