Hacker Mindset
Emmanuel Goldstein is the editor-in-chief of 2600: The Hacker Quarterly and hosts a weekly radio program in New York called “Off the Hook.” These are some of his thoughts.
Hacking is, very simply, asking a lot of questions and refusing to stop asking. This is why computers are perfect for inquisitive people — they don’t tell you to shut up when you keep asking questions or inputting commands over and over and over. But hacking doesn’t have to confine itself to computers. Anyone with an inquisitive mind, a sense of adventure and strong beliefs in free speech and the right to know most definitely has a bit of the hacker spirit in them.
One of the common misconceptions is that anyone considered a hacker is doing something illegal. It’s a sad commentary on the state of our society when someone who is basically seeking knowledge and the truth is assumed to be up to something nefarious. Nothing could be further from the truth.
[Hacking is] to seek knowledge, discover something new, be the first one to find a particular weakness in a computer system or the first to be able to get a certain result from a program. As mentioned above, this doesn’t have to confine itself to the world of computers. Anyone who’s an adventurer or explorer of some sort, or any good investigative journalist, knows the feeling of wanting to do something nobody has ever done before or find the answer despite being told that you can’t. One thing that all of the people involved in these endeavors seem to share is the feeling from outsiders that they’re wasting their time.
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Very nice thoughts David.
I’ve been a great fan of Off The Hook for a few years already, although I don’t listen to it as often as I should. It’s a great show and it always inspires me explore new ideas and technologies. If it wasn’t for the hacker philosophy I wouldn’t probably be nearly as interested as I am in the subject.
yep, absolutely… everyone who posses abilities to think outside of the box is a hacker. hacking does not apply to security only