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ARE YOU A HACKER?
by Robert Bickford
Are you a Hacker? 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!
Bob Bickford is a software consultant who lives in Marin County, often
Hacking late into the night, and (usually) enjoying it immensely. His
wife, Greta, only tolerates this because she's an animation hacker and
sometimes does the same thing. Bob can be reached through InterNet at
rab@well.sf.ca.us
(An edited version of this article appeared in Microtimes in early
1989. Copyright (c) Robert Bickford, 1989, 1992)
+++
Robert Bickford "A Hacker is any person who derives joy from
rab@well.sf.ca.us discovering ways to circumvent limitations." rab'86
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"I recognize that a class of criminals and juvenile delinquents has
taken to calling themselves 'hackers', but I consider them irrelevant
to the true meaning of the word; just as the Mafia calls themselves
'businessmen' but nobody pays that fact any attention." rab'90
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