Hacker Culture
In computing, a hacker is any skilled computer expert that uses their technical knowledge to overcome a problem.
While "hacker" can refer to any skilled computer programmer, the term has become associated in popular culture with a "security hacker", someone who, with their technical knowledge, uses bugs or exploits to break into computer systems.
Idea
The hacker culture is a subculture of individuals who enjoy the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming limitations of software systems to achieve novel and clever outcomes. The act of engaging in activities (such as programming or other media) in a spirit of playfulness and exploration is termed "hacking". However, the defining characteristic of a hacker is not the activities performed themselves (e.g. programming), but the manner in which it is done and whether it is something exciting and meaningful.
- Creating software and sharing it with each other
- Placing a high value on freedom of inquiry
- Hostility to secrecy
- Information-sharing as both an ideal and a practical strategy
- Upholding the right to fork
- Emphasis on rationality
- Distaste for authority
- Playful cleverness, taking the serious humorously and humor seriously