Book reference: Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Evolution (1984) by Steven Levy

In this post, you will be convinced why the hacker ethic is really the only one true ethic to live by, and you should just abandon all beliefs and become an anti-proprietary-anti-bigtech-Richard-Stallman’s-reincarnate open source zealot.

The Definition You Did Not Know Link to heading

Hacker was never a pejorative term. It has a second meaning that is loosely defined, but these three definitions summarize it well:

  • A person skilled in information technology who achieves goals by non-standard means. (wiki)
  • A subculture that shares an attitude toward computing and a set of beliefs about how computers and the Internet should be used. Encyclopedia
  • Appreciating playful cleverness (Richard Stallman)

What Ethics? Link to heading

Hacker ethic and hacker culture are already masterfully documented by Steven Levy in his book. Their philosophy can be summarized as the following: sharing, openness, decentralization (mistrust authorities), free access to computers, and world improvement.

We believe openness makes the world a better place; we challenge the status quo; and we believe that bureaucracies, whether corporate, government, or university, are flawed systems. More elaborated in wiki.

All Information Should be Free Link to heading

With open and easily accessible information, it promotes creativity. Hackers are able to build on top of pre-existing systems, and the progression of technology can be expanded rapidly. Sadly, this is far from the case today, with monopolies going on, search result censorships, a lack of transparency (it’s almost impossible to use a modern smartphone without a Google/Apple account), and some scientific articles/research papers being paywalled. Imagine the setbacks to decades of human progress.

Democratization of Technology Link to heading

This makes technology accessible to everyone, not just the richest conglomerates with infinite resources. Perhaps that’s why small language AI models are the next big thing.

The creative industry would benefit from this democratization as well. Adobe is widely hated for many reasons, most prominent being their subscription-based model, a feat that could be pulled off due to their monopoly, knowing that no other technologies come close and that change is hard.

From an artist standpoint, say you want to create a 3D animated title, you now have to pay for an overpriced Adobe subscription that includes everything else you don’t use, a template (assuming you are a lazy ass like me), and upon opening the template, you realize that you need another 3 paid plugins as a dependency (speaking from experience btw, just invest in learning Blender). The barrier to entry is now higher. I would like to believe everyone is an artist and that our inherent desire for creative endeavors makes us human. It would be nice if we had more support instead of obstacles; subscription-based everything isn’t helping.

Let’s not forget the absurd patent of the h264 codec by MPEG-LA. Money that companies could have spent pushing technologies is now spent paying for a patent that really should just be an open standard.

Competition Link to heading

Did you know you can officially install Windows for free? Remember that the next time you buy a new PC, tell them you know how to install your own operating system. Now, do you think that would be the case if Linux did not exist? I am guessing not.

Companies will have to provide more value in order for you to use their product, or ideally, focus on service and support.

Much Convinced? Link to heading

Of course, balance is key in everything yada yada… take this post lightly. You may not be convinced, but hopefully you can see why the world would benefit from the existence of true hackers. We owe the technologies we enjoy today to some of these unsung heroes of computer evolution.