Hacking is very often associated with computer systems, both in the sense of code and circuits, networks that connect them.
But, actually hacking is a distinct thing apart from all that.
My earliest hack was on locked doors as a little kid. Standing alone in a hall, I grabbed the knob and began to explore playfully.
I remember the thought:
What does locked actually mean?
The knob still moves. A little.
Turns out that door knob could move. So I moved it a little. Back and forth. After a time, back permitted more movement than forth did.
Why?
Also turns out moving forth fast, then back, then forth again yields more movement overall, but only briefly. And only when continued.
...
And then it happened. More and more varied movements, patterns, and the door just opened.
No key.
I remember that so vividly, because it changed how I think, or maybe just expanded scope. Was a big deal. I never expected to actually open the door.
There are expected inputs, actions, moves, information. And there is also the unexpected.
There is what a thing was designed for, and that intent may actually overlap with other use cases, sort of like off label drug use does.
More importantly, there is how we may believe a thing works, what we tell people about how it works and whether there are lies, omissions, and the like.
And there is what it actually does, given unexpected inputs, or even the approved ones.
That all gets at what hacking really is. People seek understanding of tech around them. And they do that directly, themselves. Playfully, often enough.
Their reasons vary good and bad, of course.
Farmers are traditionally great hackers, and their reasons are some of the best! People need food and the world is complex, high cost, high risks, and when that goes bad people do not eat. A good farmer will do what it takes to bring a crop in. And should. I grew up near one. That is very likely where some of my own inclinations came from.
Others can cite examples. Good and bad.
Really, what I wanted to get at was the mindset.
Being curious about systems, tech, basically the machinery we live in, around, or use, own.
Knowing the difference between generally accepted human limits, our own limits, and what the machinery of nature will permit. Turns out the more we hack on that, the more we understand and the more our world permits us to do. Same goes for ourselves.
Neat, isn't it?
Some call this sort of thing science.
Others may call it play. Your cat surely does, as did you and I and maybe we still do when we approach tech with that playful gleam in our eye... just what can I make this do, or can I do with this, if...
As for the doors?
Well, I got good and in the course of a week could enter many locked rooms in less than a minute by hand manipulation of the door knob.
Check this 70's foreshadowing on the world today out!
So I actually disclosed responsibly. Grade schooler. Talked with an uncle who walked me through scenarios. It made sense to do.
When I did know what happened?
They, of course made it all about me. Nobody else was a problem.
I remember saying that sort of thing is true, until it isn't, and yeah. Did not go well.
Eventually, it came down to me saying they just need to fix the locks. A janitor agreed and had found out most were installed wrong. In the wrong position they were subject to hand manipulation due to the mechanism being impacted by gravity. Even worse! That janitor maintained things well always making sure to lube the locks when any were sticky. Why not? Who does not like it when stuff works well, consistently?
The fix was to flip them over.
Any of that seem like familiar ground?
There are some negative connotations around the words, hack and hacker. Me? I tend to ignore them and will identify an activity as a hack and having done it, me, others as hackers.
Turns out that uncle was a bit of a hacker too. For a time, he would bring me locks and I would pick them, or get his help and it was great fun! I remember one days conversation too:
The locks are there to keep most people honest. It is a cost or barrier to remind us, that sort of thing.
Well, all of that remains true whether one can pick locks or not, but with one big difference: saving a life, or escaping real trouble of some kind may actually happen when it might otherwise not.
The point here being curious about how tech works is not a crime. It actually has high value! Snuffing that out of people to make another buck, or cover up for other failings, corruption, exploitation, even ignorance and error makes no sense!
Sure, we may blunt the peak levels of bad in the world, but we rub out the peak good even more, and it is the good which gets us through hard times, advances tech, and all manner of works that increase the potential for the world to be better, brighter, safer, and above all, a whole lot more fun!