Response to Hacker Ethics

Hacking is parallel to being addicted to any type of activity in life, as it becomes a certain way of life consuming every single aspect and second of your time. It is who you are as a person, how you act, and how you want to be perceived. “The Hacker Work Ethic” by Pekka Himanen shows how hackers find pleasure out of hacking into software such as electronics, music, and programming their own devices or hard drives. The time and effort that goes into the hacking is worth every single second to the hacker’s time. “The hacker programs because he finds programming intrinsically interesting, exciting, and joyous” (Himanen, 3). This statement shows that the work ethic behind hacking is tedious, but very well enjoyed. Hacking is not a task or a project for a hacker, but instead a thrilling, uplifting experience which both enriches and pleasures the hacker.

The ethics behind hackers is completely due to passion. “For hackers, passion describes the general tenor of their activity, thought its fulfillment may not be sheer joyful play in all its aspects” (Himanen, 18). Many hackers love what they do and they do not have a grudge against it. The hacker ethics are based upon five adjectives: mischievous, rebellious, disciplined, artistic and playful. Hackers always maintain a mischievous attitude because they are originally violating computer norms. By taking a computer apart and modifying it, they are violating the initial objective of the computer of being an easy to use application. Hackers are often rebellious specifically demonstrated by, “Sandy Lerner is known not only for being one of the hackers behind the internet routers but also for riding horses naked” (Himanen 5). Finally, the hacker ethic is a discipline, artistic and playful ideology where individuals carefully construct and mastermind beautiful technological pieces of art. The hacker ethic contrasts the Protestant ethic by being tremendously more open, relaxed, and focused on results. Hackers are very unique in their own way, can sometimes cause harm, but very often produce revolutionary breakthroughs in technology.