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What Does it Mean to be a Hacker?

posted by janrinok on Sunday March 02 2014, @09:00AM   
from the hey-we're-famous dept.

Anonymous Coward writes:

"Every geek worth his hash and salt has heard about the hacker/cracker distinction but have you ever wondered what does the designation entail when you go beyond scratching the surface? Gabriella Coleman has. According to Wikipedia she is an anthropologist, academic and author whose work focuses on hacker culture and online activism. The link below is her class on computer hackers at New York University. I found it an interesting read. The Anthropology of Hackers - Gabriella Coleman - The Atlantic"

• Cultural bias (Score: 2) by VLM on Sunday March 02 2014, @01:15PM

  by VLM (445) on Sunday March 02 2014, @01:15PM (#9578)

  There is not all that much material on hacking and Free Software outside of North America and Europe but the literature is growing and I plan on including it in the future.

  That's because there's not much raw material, not because the academic literature has failed to be multicultural. Other than the Ushahidi software suite theres ... um ...

  I think there's a cultural bias such that hacking is not cool, at all, outside northern / western parts of the world. Its in opposition to values like a caste or strong class system, or grinding memorization equals intelligence, or never do anything for free. Probably others.

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