What is a hacker, and what do they do? According to Google a hacker is, “a person who uses computers to gain unauthorized access to data, or a cyber criminal.” For some, this may be an accurate definition, but, in fact, this definition does not even scratch the surface of what hackers are, or explain their contributions to technology development. Some of our greatest technological inventions are products of these so called cyber criminals who found code writing fascinating and realized their potential. Many believe hackers are computer software thieves, but most do not realize the term hacker goes further than computers. Hacking is used in almost every field of study but is usually viewed differently. Hacking is nothing more than finding an easier way to arrive at a solution, improving previous ideas, or what I like to call working smarter not harder. In this page, I am going to break down what a hacker is, what they do, and their work style.
The term hacker is used loosely to describe individuals who know their way around computer code well enough to manipulate it. Many believe that by manipulating code they are stealing from other people. In some cases this is true, but it is fair to say that a small fraction of people who steal information is not enough to stereotype the whole group? The group of individuals who use code for their own personal gain are now considered to be crackers. According to John Strickland in the article, “How Hackers Work,” the term related to computers hackers showed up in the sixties, and these individuals were people who hacked out computer code (Strickland p.1). Today the term hacker is broader and is not limited to just writing code. According to Pekka Himanen in, “The Hacker Ethic,” A hacker is someone who is passionate about their work, and is usually considered to be an enthusiast (Himanen p.13). It no longer has to be someone who sits in front of the computer hacking out code. For example, there is a guy on YouTube known as the Crazy Russian Hacker, who makes videos about life hacks. These hacks vary what part of daily activities that are targeted, but some videos show survival situations such as how to open cans without a can opener. Even though this is much different then how traditional hacking is viewed it is the same concept of what a hacker is and what they do.
When it comes to computer hackers most of us have a good idea of what they do, but associating the term hacker to other work fields is not as easy. To hack other fields of study one would have to really know a lot about the field, but the idea of hacking would not be much different. For example, people who do life hacks, they take pre-existing ideas and build upon them to improve the quality of the idea, or to make the idea better. Life hacks have been popping up all over the internet and some have even written books on them. The weird thing about life hacking is no one has ever considered them to be thieves of any sort. Google defines life hacks, “a strategy or technique in order to manage one’s time and daily activities in a more efficient way.” A few of these life hacks found online at “22 Awesome Life Hacks” involve using recycled pieces of trash to amplify your mobile devices external speaker, or simply switching your phone over to airplane mode to conserve battery power. Even though life hackers are improving ideas of day to day ideas, they are no different then other computer hackers. Hackers regardless of their level of expertise share a common trait, and that trait is their work ethic.
Unlike the traditional work ethic that most people have, the hacker ethic is much different. The traditional way people work is they fall in suit to what they are told do in the belief that if they work hard enough they will one day be successful. For most people, this is somewhat true, but where the work hard style falls short is, not everyone has the same thought on what success looks like. For most Americans, they work forty plus hours a week to barely get by at a job they cannot stand, but they do not have many other options. This I call the work harder to get less. Now the hacker ethic is much different than this. Hackers work just as hard as the next person, but hackers separate themselves by being passionate about what they do (Himanen p.6). With this passion for what they do and the desire to create the motivation no longer lies with making money, but the desire to share their knowledge with people who have the same interests as them (Himanen p.X). Even though the hacker ethic is described as mixing passion and the ability to create together sounds like fun, it is lot of hard work, but when you enjoy your work it really is not work. Hackers find themselves spending hours, months or even years on the same project, but for these individuals the payout in the end is more rewarding. For example, Microsoft was created by a couple of friends who shared the same enthusiasm for computers, and used their ideas and built one of the biggest software programs known today. Yes, this company is one of the biggest companies profiting huge amounts of money, but for the creators it was not about the money at first. How often does someone create a product of their own because they were following the orders of their boss? Hacking in the past has lead to great things for the present, and hacking today will lead to great things in the future.
The term hacker is most commonly associated with computer coders who use their knowledge to write software programs. Most of these hackers share their work, or build on others work anonymously. Computer hackers have gotten a bad reputation by individuals who have used code writing to gain access to material they do not have permission to use, or for other illegal activities. But, just like any other field of work or study there are people who abuse their power. The term hacker also has no defining boundaries on who they are, and is not just limited to computer hackers. Life hackers are cut from the same cloth as computer hackers, but on a different level of expertise. The work ethic of hackers is much different then traditional work because hackers take their passion to create and contribute to the greater good of technological advancement. Without hackers such as Bill Gates or Steve Jobs who knows where computer technology would be today.