old, but ever-green: Although high general intelligence is common among hackers, it is not the sine qua non one might expect. Another trait is probably even mo

old, but ever-green: Although high general intelligence is common among hackers, it is not the sine qua non one might expect. Another trait is probably even more important: the ability to mentally absorb, retain, and reference large amounts of ‘meaningless’ detail, trusting to later experience to give it context and meaning. A person of merely average analytical intelligence who has this trait can become an effective hacker, but a creative genius who lacks it will swiftly find himself outdistanced by people who routinely upload the contents of thick reference manuals into their brains. http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/personality.html http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/personality.html