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> What's the difference between your "overlearning" and "hacking"? They sound like the same thing. They are similar, but I think one difference between "hackin
by sendos 15y ago
> What's the difference between your "overlearning" and "hacking"? They sound like the same thing.
They are similar, but I think one difference between "hacking" and "overlearning" is that a hacker can learn to subvert/circumvent a system quite quickly, and usually does so in a way that breaks the rules. Overlearning usually takes longer to achieve, and is a more insidious problem because it achieves its goals without actually breaking any rules.
- kragen 15y agoIt depends on what you think "the rules" are. Generally speaking, hacking happens in a framework that has unbreakable rules, whether those are rules of a game, of a CPU, or of an OS. A solution becomes a hack when it exploits those rules in a way that was previously thought impossible. Of course, there may be other, breakable, rules that are broken — "You can't render 3-D in real time on a PC!" — but those aren't the relevant rules. Many hacks are not quick at all to achieve.
- sendos 15y agoI guess an example of hacking would be someone hacking the phone system to make free long distance calls. An example of overlearning would be someone learning the rules of society to such a degree that he gets free long distance calls (e.g. using lawsuits against phone companies). The former would get fined or imprisoned if caught, but the latter is fine under our legal system.
- kragen 15y agoIt's pretty bizarre that you're using the derogatory definition of "hack" given that you're posting on Hacker News. And it doesn't incline me to want to talk to you further.
- sendos 15y agoSorry, I was just using the colloquial meaning of hack. Did not at all mean to appear derogatory for the type of hacking exemplified by HN, of which I take part in. In any case, I do see your point about similarities between hacking and overlearning, but I think there are some differences. If I can articulate those difference better, I'll reply a little later.
- DasIch 15y agoI think overlearning can be considered to be a subset of hacking. In both cases laws (as in physics) are exploited however while hacking may or may not break rules as imposed by society overlearning does not.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]