If you mean hacker in the traditional sense, I'm not so sure you can learn to be a hacker. It's an attitude of mind that makes you want to take things apart to

If you mean hacker in the traditional sense, I'm not so sure you can learn to be a hacker. It's an attitude of mind that makes you want to take things apart to see how they work, and then try to see if you can put them back together again better. If you have that mindset, play with a computer, and you'll learn enough on your own just by following what interests you. If you don't have that curious mindset, try to develop it; it's the hardest part of the hacker nature, but also one of the essential ones. If you mean "competent programmer," then the best route that way is a good computer science degree (which will teach you mainly theory) followed by a job programming (which will teach you how to apply the theory). Both the theory and the application of the theory are important; vocational-training computer courses that teach the application often omit the theory altogether. Hackers can benefit from formal education, too. The important thing is understanding how things work, not that you discovered them on your own. Learning by reading and by observing is as valuable as learning by doing; and the computer world has an endless stream of good examples of what NOT to do.