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I am a bit surprised Richard Feynman does not figure in this discussion possibly because he existed "before PC". Paul Graham in his essay "The Word 'hacker'" wr

I am a bit surprised Richard Feynman does not figure in this discussion possibly because he existed "before PC". Paul Graham in his essay "The Word 'hacker'" writes [0] Believe it or not, the two senses of "hack" are also connected. Ugly and imaginative solutions have something in common: they both break the rules. And there is a gradual continuum between rule breaking that's merely ugly (using duct tape to attach something to your bike) and rule breaking that is brilliantly imaginative (discarding Euclidean space). Hacking predates computers. When he was working on the Manhattan Project, Richard Feynman used to amuse himself by breaking into safes containing secret documents. This tradition continues today. When we were in grad school, a hacker friend of mine who spent too much time around MIT had his own lock picking kit. (He now runs a hedge fund, a not unrelated enterprise.) [0] http://www.paulgraham.com/gba.html http://www.paulgraham.com/gba.html

glurgh 14y ago
possibly because he existed "before PC" Or more likely because the situation, context and Feynman's actions were highly dissimilar. If you haven't had a chance, take a look at the story in the original source, it's a lot more detailed than an aside in a PG essay. http://www.amazon.com/Surely-Feynman-Adventures-Curious-Character/dp/0393316041 http://www.amazon.com/Surely-Feynman-Adventures-Curious-Char...
Shenglong 14y ago
Locks in themselves are quite interesting mechanisms, and I'm not surprised that people find breaking them exciting. I bought a lockpicking set a few years ago, and the first thing I do whenever I move into a new house/apartment is pick my own locks. Keys are able to open tumbler locks almost because of the imperfection of the lock itself, and lock picks just exploit that fact. I don't know - I think the whole concept is very beautiful. As for usefulness, I've saved several friends a couple hundred dollars by opening their doors when they're locked out. :)
- denzil_correa 14y ago
  Which sets do you recommend to open various types of locks?

glurgh 14y ago

possibly because he existed "before PC" Or more likely because the situation, context and Feynman's actions were highly dissimilar. If you haven't had a chance, take a look at the story in the original source, it's a lot more detailed than an aside in a PG essay. http://www.amazon.com/Surely-Feynman-Adventures-Curious-Character/dp/0393316041 http://www.amazon.com/Surely-Feynman-Adventures-Curious-Char...

Shenglong 14y ago

Locks in themselves are quite interesting mechanisms, and I'm not surprised that people find breaking them exciting. I bought a lockpicking set a few years ago, and the first thing I do whenever I move into a new house/apartment is pick my own locks. Keys are able to open tumbler locks almost because of the imperfection of the lock itself, and lock picks just exploit that fact. I don't know - I think the whole concept is very beautiful. As for usefulness, I've saved several friends a couple hundred dollars by opening their doors when they're locked out. :)

denzil_correa 14y ago
Which sets do you recommend to open various types of locks?