6 ms·

WAY more geeky/cool to have knitted this yourself than to have just bought it as a T-shirt. That said, with varying definitions of hacker, I'd bet she's the le

WAY more geeky/cool to have knitted this yourself than to have just bought it as a T-shirt. That said, with varying definitions of hacker, I'd bet she's the least hacker-y person to make the HN homepage.

daeken 14y ago
Not by a long shot. At least once a week we have people talking about how they "hacked" their focus, or their working hours, or other drivel. This is genuinely neat.
- mkopinsky 14y ago
  30 year old developer hacks work week, hits HN homepage: common. 50 year old librarian hacks sweater, hits HN homepage: somewhat less common. But yes, the principle is still the same.
  - scott_s 14y ago
    No. This woman demonstrated intellectual curiosity and real creativity. Most of the "life hacker" type posts I see are self-congratulatory pop-psychology.
  - Sondy 14y ago
    I am NOT 50!!!! (for a few more years, anyway.)
    - mkopinsky 14y ago
      Your age isn't on your website, but my calculation (got Master's degree in 1986 at likely approximate age of 24) couldn't have been TOO far off, right? I guess age is just one of those topics..... :-)
      - Sondy 14y ago
        Well, it was farther off two years ago when I posted the picture. And I got my MA in 1986 on my 22nd birthday. (Later got an MLIS on another birthday.) I put a math problem in my follow-up post. You should be able to calculate my age and my son's ages from these clues: http://sonderbooks.com/blog/?p=10000 http://sonderbooks.com/blog/?p=10000
        mkopinsky 14y ago
        My age estimate was from your LinkedIn profile. If I was guessing by pictures, I would have said 39. (Is that the right answer? (I mean in the sense of Right Answer to say to someone of how old they are, not mathematically correct. :-) ))
        Poiesis 14y ago
        The Right Answer is to have not brought up the age issue because it is rather immaterial to the discussion. Can you really say that the authors age, when considered independently from the article subject, has significant bearing on the voting?
merraksh 14y ago
WAY more geeky/cool to have knitted this yourself than to have just bought it as a T-shirt. Sure, but I didn't say the opposite. I like the idea a lot and knitting this yourself is really great, but I would definitely buy it if it was on a T-shirt.
- eumenides1 14y ago
  I would also buy it because I don't knit and it's not really something that's on my list of things to learn.
  - mkopinsky 14y ago
    Agreed. But something still feels wrong with saying, "Nice, you spent 100 hours making something cool? I'd definitely pay $15 for a poor replica thereof."
    - merraksh 14y ago
      Again, that is not what I said. What I meant was more along the lines of "You did a great work and I like both the drawing and its meaning. I would love to see that on a T-shirt, and if I were to make that T-shirt it would certainly give you credit for this." I wouldn't feel like wearing a sweater like that for personal preferences, but I would like this idea to spread. You would definitely have a point if she designed and produced that as a T-shirt and now somebody else started making poor replicas, but hers is probably a unique specimen.
      - Sondy 14y ago
        The idea of making a chart from prime numbers is definitely not copywrite-able. So go for it! I got the idea from a knitting magazine where someone described a blanket with a chart of prime numbers that fascinated a student who walked by who was in a remedial math class. They had a small picture of part of the blanket, and I couldn't figure out how their method worked, but I put those ideas into a sweater. I have attempted to write a children's book about using this idea to make cyphers or just fun art. But I haven't tried to sell it yet. And I did a library program that went over very well with kids. Anyway, if anyone makes a t-shirt let me know -- I'd order one. Though maybe I should do it -- I've got several colored charts already made from when I was working on my book. Give me some time, and I'll make a cafe press account....
kragen 14y ago
No, prime factorization is way more hackish than pickup artistry or startup funding. You're succumbing to stereotypes based on surface appearance instead of looking at the essence of things. That's not very hackish of you.

daeken 14y ago

Not by a long shot. At least once a week we have people talking about how they "hacked" their focus, or their working hours, or other drivel. This is genuinely neat.

mkopinsky 14y ago
30 year old developer hacks work week, hits HN homepage: common. 50 year old librarian hacks sweater, hits HN homepage: somewhat less common. But yes, the principle is still the same.
- scott_s 14y ago
  No. This woman demonstrated intellectual curiosity and real creativity. Most of the "life hacker" type posts I see are self-congratulatory pop-psychology.
- Sondy 14y ago
  I am NOT 50!!!! (for a few more years, anyway.)
  - mkopinsky 14y ago
    Your age isn't on your website, but my calculation (got Master's degree in 1986 at likely approximate age of 24) couldn't have been TOO far off, right? I guess age is just one of those topics..... :-)
    - Sondy 14y ago
      Well, it was farther off two years ago when I posted the picture. And I got my MA in 1986 on my 22nd birthday. (Later got an MLIS on another birthday.) I put a math problem in my follow-up post. You should be able to calculate my age and my son's ages from these clues: http://sonderbooks.com/blog/?p=10000 http://sonderbooks.com/blog/?p=10000
      - mkopinsky 14y ago
        My age estimate was from your LinkedIn profile. If I was guessing by pictures, I would have said 39. (Is that the right answer? (I mean in the sense of Right Answer to say to someone of how old they are, not mathematically correct. :-) ))
        Poiesis 14y ago
        The Right Answer is to have not brought up the age issue because it is rather immaterial to the discussion. Can you really say that the authors age, when considered independently from the article subject, has significant bearing on the voting?

merraksh 14y ago

WAY more geeky/cool to have knitted this yourself than to have just bought it as a T-shirt. Sure, but I didn't say the opposite. I like the idea a lot and knitting this yourself is really great, but I would definitely buy it if it was on a T-shirt.

eumenides1 14y ago
I would also buy it because I don't knit and it's not really something that's on my list of things to learn.
- mkopinsky 14y ago
  Agreed. But something still feels wrong with saying, "Nice, you spent 100 hours making something cool? I'd definitely pay $15 for a poor replica thereof."
  - merraksh 14y ago
    Again, that is not what I said. What I meant was more along the lines of "You did a great work and I like both the drawing and its meaning. I would love to see that on a T-shirt, and if I were to make that T-shirt it would certainly give you credit for this." I wouldn't feel like wearing a sweater like that for personal preferences, but I would like this idea to spread. You would definitely have a point if she designed and produced that as a T-shirt and now somebody else started making poor replicas, but hers is probably a unique specimen.
    - Sondy 14y ago
      The idea of making a chart from prime numbers is definitely not copywrite-able. So go for it! I got the idea from a knitting magazine where someone described a blanket with a chart of prime numbers that fascinated a student who walked by who was in a remedial math class. They had a small picture of part of the blanket, and I couldn't figure out how their method worked, but I put those ideas into a sweater. I have attempted to write a children's book about using this idea to make cyphers or just fun art. But I haven't tried to sell it yet. And I did a library program that went over very well with kids. Anyway, if anyone makes a t-shirt let me know -- I'd order one. Though maybe I should do it -- I've got several colored charts already made from when I was working on my book. Give me some time, and I'll make a cafe press account....

kragen 14y ago

No, prime factorization is way more hackish than pickup artistry or startup funding. You're succumbing to stereotypes based on surface appearance instead of looking at the essence of things. That's not very hackish of you.