I've been programming since I was 10, but I don't feel like a 'hacker'
1–10 of 53 posts
Re: I've been programming since I was 10, but I don't feel like a 'hacker'
#2Well, I guess there is more to being a hacker than just having programming experience.
I understand that the post is more than its title, but I couldn’t resist and got triggered by it.
For me, it’s about being curious, not taking any technical solution for granted and having the inner need and energy to explore, to experiment, to be skeptical and feeling the drive to improve things …
Re: I've been programming since I was 10, but I don't feel like a 'hacker'
#3The "hacker" stereotype is just gatekeeping nonsense. Not identifying with it is a positive.
Re: I've been programming since I was 10, but I don't feel like a 'hacker'
#4The "hacker" stereotype is just gatekeeping nonsense. Not identifying with it is a positive.
"Researcher" always has a better ring to it anyways.
Re: I've been programming since I was 10, but I don't feel like a 'hacker'
#5> "Hacker" doesn't equate to the best software engineer, the best founder
Subjective, of course. To some, "hacker" means someone with deep knowledge, almost on instinctive level, of computing things, a native for processes, data and signals. Not negative.
Re: I've been programming since I was 10, but I don't feel like a 'hacker'
#6The "hacker" stereotype is just gatekeeping nonsense. Not identifying with it is a positive.
"Researcher" always has a better ring to it anyways.
But maybe different enough. If "researcher" is a systematic Kamerlingh Onnes of computers, "hacker" could be viewed more as imaginative Faraday.
Re: I've been programming since I was 10, but I don't feel like a 'hacker'
#7The "hacker" stereotype is just gatekeeping nonsense. Not identifying with it is a positive.
"Researcher" always has a better ring to it anyways.
just a lone voice from the outside world but perhaps programmers could just call themselves programmers and stop trying to take on terms that already have meanings? it's surreal at first reading silicon valley discourse - you have to learn that when you guys say 'engineer' it doesn't mean an engineer. it means a programmer. Likewise I imagine a researcher who actually engages in research would be similarly lost trying to find you guys theorems etc. when you start calling yourselves researchers
Re: I've been programming since I was 10, but I don't feel like a 'hacker'
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Researcher" always has a better ring to it anyways.
just a lone voice from the outside world but perhaps programmers could just call themselves programmers and stop trying to take on terms that already have meanings? it's surreal at first reading silicon valley discourse - you have to learn that when you guys say 'engineer' it doesn't mean an engineer. it means a programmer. Likewise I imagine a researcher who actually engages in research would be similarly lost tryin…
engineer made sense to me after reading this, but researcher is laughable for most
Re: I've been programming since I was 10, but I don't feel like a 'hacker'
#9It's my understanding that "hacking" involves breaking into or altering an existing system or piece of software, as opposed to "development" or "engineering" which is the creative process of addending or creating new systems or software. This article discusses neither: it's just a rambling life story and social critique sprinkled with light misandry and self loathing.
Re: I've been programming since I was 10, but I don't feel like a 'hacker'
#10I never even really hear the term "hacker" anymore. I'm not sure what's driven it out of the industry. I've been programming since I was nine and I was never called a "hacker", even to date. I was called a "nerd", a term which used to be a pejorative for young boys who spent a lot of time on a computer and had a-typical interests and attire. I was made fun of for reading programming books when I finished my other work, I was chastised by teachers for playing video games, etc... I was young and old enough to watch the crypto-anarchist videos and understand that hackers were something different from what I was. They had a mission and an objective to their sense of curiosity that often resulted in chaos. Then console gaming came about and everyone started using the term in some flowery sense.
That was how I viewed it, anyway, until I realized that around that time is when computing became professional. CS and CE became a degree at major colleges and "nerds" were making serious money. It became desirable to refer to yourself as a nerd out of style. Basically, nerds took the word back.