A Hacker's Philosophy

NOTE: This post has been given the publish date of when the image was made, with the words written on 8/24/2020.

I heard someone cringingly say "I hack, therefore I am," but I realized René's life did overlap with Guy's, so I made what has been configured as this post's image (the whole point of the post).

I don't really have much to add, though. I just thought the image would be a fun thing to make. Since the title might lead to some expectation of a frenzied manifesto about hacker philosophy, I guess I better provide something broaching the topic. While I was no Zero Cool (though, my father was), I am somewhat sympathetic to the conventional hacker ethics.

I'm sympathetic but not dogmatic to the principles (for example, I don't feel an imperitive to share everything, so I don't think that all 'information' should be 'free'). There is always the point where any set of principles devoutly adhered to devolve into an idyllic ideology that undermines the entire utopic enterprise.

I'm satisfied with the preceding sentence (it could serve as an epitaph for nearly any over-zealous movement), but dissatisfied with the rambling and miniscule word count — I . . . need . . . more . . . power content!: One 'ethic' I particularly reject outright is the notion that code can be a form of art. This is a result of the conflation of art and craft (I only subscribe for the Tostoyan definition of art). Well executed works of craft might pass as art for some, and that's alright by me, but I don't seek to be self-deluding and instead am content with the less glamorous principles of quality and efficiency (something not unique to the hacker ethos).

Well, what else can I add whilst I'm on the subject? Mr. Robot's a pretty entertaining show; I'm pretty sure that Jeeves and Wooster's adaptation of the Comrade Bingo story contains the origin of Christian Slater's character.

Yeah, that's . . . that's about it. I'm afraid I can't talk about hacking more thoroughly without consulting a lawyer about statutes of limitation.