Chapter 8: The Metaphysics of Hacking

Overview

Don't Eat Yellow Snow

"A hacker shall do no harm."

”The Original Hacker Credo (circa 1970)

The most profound lesson I've learned about hacking is that the perception most people have about hackers is a stereotype. In this chapter I'm going to attempt to clear up that misperception without falling into the same trap. Hackers are people. As you know, no person is 100 percent evil or 100 percent angelic. Each individual has gray areas; quirks , personality traits, weaknesses, strengths, likes, dislikes, opinions , and feelings that are the sum of who she is. One thing all hackers have in common is, when it comes to the loves of their life, computers are near the top of the list. That is just about the only sweeping statement one can make about hackers. Aside from that, each hacker I know is unique.

Black T-shirts are a distant second love. A few paragraphs down you'll read that "black T-shirts are the de rigueur hacker uniform." This doesn't mean that all hackers wear T-shirts that are black. It's a fine line! In order to present you with a three-dimensional picture of hackers, I've created a graphic device called the "Hacker Pyramid." As you can see by the series of illustrations, there are three dimensions to hacking.