Points For Style Again, to be a hacker, you have to enter the hacker mindset. There are some things you can do when youre not at a computer that seem to help. Theyre not substitutes for hacking (nothing is) but many hackers do them, and feel that they connect in some basic way with the essence of hacking. -Learn to write your native language well. Though its a common stereotype that programmers cant write, a surprising number of hackers (including all the most accomplished ones I know of) are very able writers. -Read science fiction. Go to science fiction conventions (a good way to meet hackers and proto-hackers). -Train in a martial-arts form. The kind of mental discipline required for martial arts seems to be similar in important ways to what hackers do. The most popular forms among hackers are definitely Asian empty-hand arts such as Tae Kwon Do, various forms of Karate, Kung Fu, Aikido, or Ju Jitsu. Western fencing and Asian sword arts also have visible followings. In places where its legal, pistol shooting has been rising in popularity since the late 1990s. The most hackerly martial arts are those which emphasize mental discipline, relaxed awareness, and control, rather than raw strength, athleticism, or physical toughness. -Study an actual meditation discipline. The perennial favorite among hackers is Zen (importantly, it is possible to benefit from Zen without acquiring a religion or discarding one you already have). Other styles may work as well, but be careful to choose one that doesnt require you to believe crazy things. -Develop an analytical ear for music. Learn to appreciate peculiar kinds of music. Learn to play some musical instrument well, or how to sing. -Develop your appreciation of puns and wordplay. The more of these things you already do, the more likely it is that you are natural hacker material. Why these things in particular is not completely clear, but theyre connected with a mix of left- and right-brain skills that seems to be important; hackers need to be able to both reason logically and step outside the apparent logic of a problem at a moments notice. Work as intensely as you play and play as intensely as you work. For true hackers, the boundaries between play, work, science and art all tend to disappear, or to merge into a high-level creative playfulness. Also, dont be content with a narrow range of skills. Though most hackers self-describe as programmers, they are very likely to be more than competent in several related skills — system administration, web design, and PC hardware troubleshooting are common ones. A hacker whos a system administrator, on the other hand, is likely to be quite skilled at script programming and web design. Hackers dont do things by halves; if they invest in a skill at all, they tend to get very good at it. Alright, check ... check ... check ... check ... check ... check. Ok, well, I guess well see what I come up with after I finish reading through these programming texts. ^_~ Its definitely not the easiest language Ive had to learn, but how boring life would be if we didnt constantly challenge ourselves.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 08:42:12 +0000
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