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Ask HN: Would you differentiate between hacker, artist, craftsman and engineer

8 points by ismail 7y ago

I am looking for various views on how you would define and differentiate between a hacker, artist, craftsman and engineer. I have some thoughts, but in order not to influence the discussion i will not post my own definitions until some time has passed. The question again: How would you differentiate between a hacker, artist, craftsman and engineer? I have drafted some questions based on my own thinking. Feel free to use these to answer. x = hacker or artist or craftsman or engineer How does a (x) see the world? What character traits does a (x) demonstrate? Why does (x) do what they do? How does (x) do what they do? What does (x) actually do?

mathgladiator 7y ago
I'd argue they value different things. A hacker values novelty. An artist's values aesthetics. A craftsman values quality. An engineer values discipline to ship. These are all spitballed, but there are a high number dimensions to think about.
muzani 7y ago
Hacker: someone who finds the shortest route. Root word hack, meaning to break into something with an axe. Artist: someone who extracts meaning out of something. Some extract meaning from the meaningless, some extract it from something already existing, like a different form on music or a perspective on war. Craftsman: someone who makes high quality things. Engineer: someone who finds the optimum solution to a problem. The hacker religiously follows the shortest route, the engineer considers various trade offs.
amerkhalid 7y ago
Hacker: someone who solves problem quickly. Maybe it is or it is not the most elegant solution but it gets job done. Artist: someone who creates something that stirs emotions. My friends and I used to debate if ads are truly art form or not, I lean towards that they are. But some of my friends argue that art product should be the product, not make you wish to buy another product. Craftsman: I haven't thought about craftsman much. It seems recently there is a lot of romanticizing of craftsman in the Western hemisphere but back home there are tons of craftsmen who seems to struggle financially. Engineer: someone who builds something using well established principles, with a lot of formal processes, communications, and most likely in a team. They may work on artistic projects such as video games or art installation but their part of project is not artistic.
- djaque 7y ago
  WRT the artist: I think it depends on the ad. Some people will argue this, but I don't think making money from your art makes you a "sellout" or less of an artist. On the other hand, there are usually a lot of constraints to what you can put in an ad and most of them, although quirky or pretty, are kind of soulless if you think about it.

8 points by ismail 7y ago

mathgladiator 7y ago

I'd argue they value different things. A hacker values novelty. An artist's values aesthetics. A craftsman values quality. An engineer values discipline to ship. These are all spitballed, but there are a high number dimensions to think about.

muzani 7y ago

Hacker: someone who finds the shortest route. Root word hack, meaning to break into something with an axe. Artist: someone who extracts meaning out of something. Some extract meaning from the meaningless, some extract it from something already existing, like a different form on music or a perspective on war. Craftsman: someone who makes high quality things. Engineer: someone who finds the optimum solution to a problem. The hacker religiously follows the shortest route, the engineer considers various trade offs.

amerkhalid 7y ago

Hacker: someone who solves problem quickly. Maybe it is or it is not the most elegant solution but it gets job done. Artist: someone who creates something that stirs emotions. My friends and I used to debate if ads are truly art form or not, I lean towards that they are. But some of my friends argue that art product should be the product, not make you wish to buy another product. Craftsman: I haven't thought about craftsman much. It seems recently there is a lot of romanticizing of craftsman in the Western hemisphere but back home there are tons of craftsmen who seems to struggle financially. Engineer: someone who builds something using well established principles, with a lot of formal processes, communications, and most likely in a team. They may work on artistic projects such as video games or art installation but their part of project is not artistic.

djaque 7y ago
WRT the artist: I think it depends on the ad. Some people will argue this, but I don't think making money from your art makes you a "sellout" or less of an artist. On the other hand, there are usually a lot of constraints to what you can put in an ad and most of them, although quirky or pretty, are kind of soulless if you think about it.