"Great hackers also generally insist on using open source software. Not just because it's better, but because it gives them more control." Paul Graham said that

"Great hackers also generally insist on using open source software. Not just because it's better, but because it gives them more control." Paul Graham said that, though I do somewhat agree about the english thing. You shouldn't take these as rules but as a guide which the title is indicative of. Sure you can become a hacker while not knowing english but the immense amount of information available on the internet (mostly in english) is just too big to avoid (not impossible as you've indicated with your examples) for beginners.