Back in the old days we learned about computers without the internet. You had mainly paper documentation. With 10 or so of the best tech manuals to read, and a

Back in the old days we learned about computers without the internet. You had mainly paper documentation. With 10 or so of the best tech manuals to read, and a bunch of old machines to network together, and a few CDs of useful software, the right person could easily become highly skilled. And by definition hacking means working out things that aren't already known (by many at least) so the absence of say stackoverflow and the other joys of the internet wouldn't slow those guys down either.