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Well, in that case, the title of the book "Hackers and Painters", overstates the connection. As a programmer who has had some success and money (and not a pain
by startingup 18y ago
Well, in that case, the title of the book "Hackers and Painters", overstates the connection.
As a programmer who has had some success and money (and not a painter, not a musician, in fact, not well-endowed in any of the arts, but with a fairly decent math background), I have to say that I found the connection tenuous too.
Not to say I don't agree with PG on most things - I actually do.
If I were to write a book I would say "Hackers & Thinkers" because that's what I do with my time - think about things.
- cglee 18y agoI don't see how linking hacking and thinking brings any new insight. It's pretty obvious the two are connected. Hacking and painting is a more interesting cross-pollination. The title "Hackers and Painters", in my opinion, doesn't overstate anything - it's an appropriate title, out of many, for the essay.
- startingup 18y agoI said "Hackers and Thinkers" just to illustrate the point that we tend to overemphasize our own particular areas of interest. Hacking and thinking don't have to go together - as an example, PG is a thinker who writes essays, but there exist many great hackers who don't spend much time thinking about general stuff. They tend to be fairly narrowly focused.