Bagbiter
I had some hilarious moments with the alphabets if the Jargon File. There were many phrases that caught my attention, for example "Airplane Rule", "Alice and Bob", "Banana Problem", "Control-C", "Easter Egg", "Gang Bang"...
But Bagbiter kind of suited nicely to my situation - fighting with my laptop. This really is such a bagbiter, working extremely clumsy! This term is funny, I would have never guessed or figured out such; how does biting and bag even get together :D Thinking of somebody biting a bag is quite a weird image when taking it literally, really funny that these words have come together and got a definition like this. Well, the roots of this term are at the sixties and seventies and refer most likely also to scrotum, so..
Bagbiter is not only an annoying computer, but also a person like loser. Hmm.. I have to remember that next time I feel the need to use the word loser, bagbiter would get more attention ;)
The Jargon File
Hacker Ethic
By Steven Levy there are seven features:
Access to computers should be unlimited and total
Well, in today´s world we are getting close to this - as long as we think of like Europe, USA.. In poor countries this isn´t happening so fast than in others. Thirst for knowledge is real and can be seen everywhere, but the positive attitude is a bit of a question mark since people tend to be so busy and lazy nowadays ;) But I think that the world really is full of fascinating problems to be solved. And pragmatic altruism is really worth of seeking! "No problem should ever have to be solved twice". Amen to that. Freedom? Well, it is shouted at every street corner nowadays.
Always yield to Hands-On Imperative
The point is clear: hands on. Do it, don´t just plan and analyze. If something can be done, do it. This would be so lovely to see more in action! I just hate the heavy wheels of decision making in companies.. You need to fill this paper to get that and the other paper to get that.. Do this plan and that analyzis.. Think of it for a month, are you really sure you want to do it?.. Blaah.
All information should be free
Well, everybody can have access to quite many kind of information, but this feature isn´t really happening in today´s world, especially when you connect it to the previous feature: you should also be allowed to improve and add things.
Mistrust authority - promote decentralization
Bureaucracy is a swear word if you ask me. I´ve worked in too many projects including different layers of bureaucracy.. But it seems to be like this today. And not all authority is a bad thing, as it is pointed out in this feature too. Just not to fall under authorities. And the end part of this feature complements the first half. Decentralization really is a central feature of the Internet and is one of trends in today´s world.
Hackers should be judged by their hacking
Equality is almost something worth gaining for, maybe someday it really works in world. Why would for example gender has anything to do with your skills? Or paycheck..
You can create art and beauty on a computer
This is obvious today. Today you even don´t have to be so good with fancy image editing tools, it´s quite simple to create things with your computer. Coding isn´t anymore the only thing considered art with computers :)
Computers can change your life for the better
Really they can. They can spare time for you to do something nice. For example you don´t have to go to a bank and line up for ages to get a bill paid, you can pay it from your eBank. You can meet new and interesting people in Internet. You can create things.
These are the classical features of hacker ethic.
Pekka Himanen has also made his own list:
Passion
Doing something from your heart. How important is that? Extremely. It´s a shame that so many has to work just to get money. How wonderful it would be to work through your passion!
Freedom
Really, the best results come from necessity and creativity. In some companies this is noticed, others still rely on strict schedules and boundaries.
(Hacker) work ethic
Irregular lifestyle is also flexible, but maybe it doesn´t work in every places :)
(Hacker) money ethic
It definitely sounds wise to spend some time to gather around the needed resources. And concentrating to ensure the broadest possible audience while choosing smaller immediate profits - how good example is Linux?! There is no need to explain.
(Hacker) network ethic
Freedom of word and thought is something which should be self-evident. And in a way Internet supports it: everybody has the chance of saying their opinion public. Resisting censorship is also quite wide-spread nowadays.
Caring
Humanity, caring of those who are not so fortunate. How self-evident should that be to everybody? Really, why would you want to have a lot of money? How about settling for enough and giving the rest to others who really need it for survival?
Creativity
And in the ground lies creativity. Use your own abilities in an imaginative way. Let the creativity run through you. Don´t hold back. Maybe this way you actually can give the world something valuable.
Looking these lists of seven´s you just wonder: why won´t we all become hackers?
Steven Levy: Hackers - Heroes of the Computer Revolution
+ our course materials
I had some hilarious moments with the alphabets if the Jargon File. There were many phrases that caught my attention, for example "Airplane Rule", "Alice and Bob", "Banana Problem", "Control-C", "Easter Egg", "Gang Bang"...
But Bagbiter kind of suited nicely to my situation - fighting with my laptop. This really is such a bagbiter, working extremely clumsy! This term is funny, I would have never guessed or figured out such; how does biting and bag even get together :D Thinking of somebody biting a bag is quite a weird image when taking it literally, really funny that these words have come together and got a definition like this. Well, the roots of this term are at the sixties and seventies and refer most likely also to scrotum, so..
Bagbiter is not only an annoying computer, but also a person like loser. Hmm.. I have to remember that next time I feel the need to use the word loser, bagbiter would get more attention ;)
The Jargon File
Hacker Ethic
By Steven Levy there are seven features:
Access to computers should be unlimited and total
Well, in today´s world we are getting close to this - as long as we think of like Europe, USA.. In poor countries this isn´t happening so fast than in others. Thirst for knowledge is real and can be seen everywhere, but the positive attitude is a bit of a question mark since people tend to be so busy and lazy nowadays ;) But I think that the world really is full of fascinating problems to be solved. And pragmatic altruism is really worth of seeking! "No problem should ever have to be solved twice". Amen to that. Freedom? Well, it is shouted at every street corner nowadays.
Always yield to Hands-On Imperative
The point is clear: hands on. Do it, don´t just plan and analyze. If something can be done, do it. This would be so lovely to see more in action! I just hate the heavy wheels of decision making in companies.. You need to fill this paper to get that and the other paper to get that.. Do this plan and that analyzis.. Think of it for a month, are you really sure you want to do it?.. Blaah.
All information should be free
Well, everybody can have access to quite many kind of information, but this feature isn´t really happening in today´s world, especially when you connect it to the previous feature: you should also be allowed to improve and add things.
Mistrust authority - promote decentralization
Bureaucracy is a swear word if you ask me. I´ve worked in too many projects including different layers of bureaucracy.. But it seems to be like this today. And not all authority is a bad thing, as it is pointed out in this feature too. Just not to fall under authorities. And the end part of this feature complements the first half. Decentralization really is a central feature of the Internet and is one of trends in today´s world.
Hackers should be judged by their hacking
Equality is almost something worth gaining for, maybe someday it really works in world. Why would for example gender has anything to do with your skills? Or paycheck..
You can create art and beauty on a computer
This is obvious today. Today you even don´t have to be so good with fancy image editing tools, it´s quite simple to create things with your computer. Coding isn´t anymore the only thing considered art with computers :)
Computers can change your life for the better
Really they can. They can spare time for you to do something nice. For example you don´t have to go to a bank and line up for ages to get a bill paid, you can pay it from your eBank. You can meet new and interesting people in Internet. You can create things.
These are the classical features of hacker ethic.
Pekka Himanen has also made his own list:
Passion
Doing something from your heart. How important is that? Extremely. It´s a shame that so many has to work just to get money. How wonderful it would be to work through your passion!
Freedom
Really, the best results come from necessity and creativity. In some companies this is noticed, others still rely on strict schedules and boundaries.
(Hacker) work ethic
Irregular lifestyle is also flexible, but maybe it doesn´t work in every places :)
(Hacker) money ethic
It definitely sounds wise to spend some time to gather around the needed resources. And concentrating to ensure the broadest possible audience while choosing smaller immediate profits - how good example is Linux?! There is no need to explain.
(Hacker) network ethic
Freedom of word and thought is something which should be self-evident. And in a way Internet supports it: everybody has the chance of saying their opinion public. Resisting censorship is also quite wide-spread nowadays.
Caring
Humanity, caring of those who are not so fortunate. How self-evident should that be to everybody? Really, why would you want to have a lot of money? How about settling for enough and giving the rest to others who really need it for survival?
Creativity
And in the ground lies creativity. Use your own abilities in an imaginative way. Let the creativity run through you. Don´t hold back. Maybe this way you actually can give the world something valuable.
Looking these lists of seven´s you just wonder: why won´t we all become hackers?
Steven Levy: Hackers - Heroes of the Computer Revolution
+ our course materials
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