5 ms·

How To Become A Hacker

33 points by HugoMelo 14y ago

richo 14y ago
Epic karma cashgrab is epic. I don't think this article really has a lot of relevance, the ESR style of hacker doesn't have all that much in common with this community tbh, and those that do gravitate in that direction have probably already seen this. Or I'm just a grumpy ass at christmas. Could go either way.
- unimpressive 14y ago
  You just added "karma cashgrab" to my lexicon. I think that the HN crowd has more of a Silicon Valley business flavor to it. (As one might expect from a site sponsored by YC.) At the same time, the "Open source/Free Software/Unix Hacker" has a lot of overlap. My issue with this article isn't its subject matter, but that it's written by ESR. (Though in ESR's defense, I think it was through reading one of his articles or blog posts that I discovered the PG essays.)
  - tjr 14y ago
    Did you read the first paragraph? If I were in ESR's position as described, I probably would have written something like this too.
- anthonyb 14y ago
  Why save it just for christmas? ;) ESR telling people how to be hackers is pretty galling when you consider what a massive pile of bugs it is/was. For my money, getmail (http://pyropus.ca/software/getmail/ http://pyropus.ca/software/getmail/) is far better value.
  - billsix 14y ago
    > ESR telling people how to be hackers is pretty galling when you consider what a massive pile of bugs it is/was What is "it"? Fetchmail?
    - anthonyb 14y ago
      Sorry, yes, I was thinking of Fetchmail - must've lost that between brain and keyboard :)
  - jff 14y ago
    Those who can't do, evangelize.
nvr219 14y ago
I'm sorry but esr is an insufferable asshole loser[1]. [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG2MnhrrY7s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG2MnhrrY7s
lbcadden3 14y ago
No reason to link this unless it has been updated.
- gonzo 14y ago
  and probably not even then.
jiggy2011 14y ago
"Don't call yourself a ‘cyberpunk’, and don't waste your time on anybody who does." I don't think I've ever come across a "cyberpunk" , is this some long dead internet subculture? P.S , can somebody repost "sex tips for geeks" some karma in there for sure.
- unimpressive 14y ago
  I use 20 mana to cast revive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromancer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromancer
jambo222 14y ago
The argument against Java as a starting language (libraries doing too much for you) is equally applicable to any high level language. I don't see how this is unique to Java.
stiff 14y ago
There are so many resources related to this topic that are so much better: http://norvig.com/21-days.html http://norvig.com/21-days.html http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2011/Sep-06.html http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2011/Sep-06.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hamming.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hamming.html http://www.paulgraham.com/college.html http://www.paulgraham.com/college.html http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-00sc-introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-spring-2011/ http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-comput... And that's just the start...
10098 14y ago
This brings back some memories :) Back when I was in high school, I had no internet connection at home, so I had to go to "internet cafes", download some interesting stuff on a 1.44 mb floppy and read it at home. That's when I came across this article. It really motivated me back then.

33 points by HugoMelo 14y ago

richo 14y ago

Epic karma cashgrab is epic. I don't think this article really has a lot of relevance, the ESR style of hacker doesn't have all that much in common with this community tbh, and those that do gravitate in that direction have probably already seen this. Or I'm just a grumpy ass at christmas. Could go either way.

unimpressive 14y ago
You just added "karma cashgrab" to my lexicon. I think that the HN crowd has more of a Silicon Valley business flavor to it. (As one might expect from a site sponsored by YC.) At the same time, the "Open source/Free Software/Unix Hacker" has a lot of overlap. My issue with this article isn't its subject matter, but that it's written by ESR. (Though in ESR's defense, I think it was through reading one of his articles or blog posts that I discovered the PG essays.)
- tjr 14y ago
  Did you read the first paragraph? If I were in ESR's position as described, I probably would have written something like this too.
anthonyb 14y ago
Why save it just for christmas? ;) ESR telling people how to be hackers is pretty galling when you consider what a massive pile of bugs it is/was. For my money, getmail (http://pyropus.ca/software/getmail/ http://pyropus.ca/software/getmail/) is far better value.
- billsix 14y ago
  > ESR telling people how to be hackers is pretty galling when you consider what a massive pile of bugs it is/was What is "it"? Fetchmail?
  - anthonyb 14y ago
    Sorry, yes, I was thinking of Fetchmail - must've lost that between brain and keyboard :)
- jff 14y ago
  Those who can't do, evangelize.

nvr219 14y ago

I'm sorry but esr is an insufferable asshole loser[1]. [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG2MnhrrY7s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG2MnhrrY7s

lbcadden3 14y ago

No reason to link this unless it has been updated.

gonzo 14y ago
and probably not even then.

jiggy2011 14y ago

"Don't call yourself a ‘cyberpunk’, and don't waste your time on anybody who does." I don't think I've ever come across a "cyberpunk" , is this some long dead internet subculture? P.S , can somebody repost "sex tips for geeks" some karma in there for sure.

unimpressive 14y ago
I use 20 mana to cast revive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromancer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromancer

jambo222 14y ago

The argument against Java as a starting language (libraries doing too much for you) is equally applicable to any high level language. I don't see how this is unique to Java.

stiff 14y ago

There are so many resources related to this topic that are so much better: http://norvig.com/21-days.html http://norvig.com/21-days.html http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2011/Sep-06.html http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2011/Sep-06.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hamming.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hamming.html http://www.paulgraham.com/college.html http://www.paulgraham.com/college.html http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-00sc-introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-spring-2011/ http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-comput... And that's just the start...

10098 14y ago

This brings back some memories :) Back when I was in high school, I had no internet connection at home, so I had to go to "internet cafes", download some interesting stuff on a 1.44 mb floppy and read it at home. That's when I came across this article. It really motivated me back then.