HACKER SPIRITUALITY

Theologian ANNE FOERST suggests that the young man who stole your identity set out to find himself on a quest for freedom.

-  ANNE FOERST

IN THE 1960S, calling someone a computer “hacker” was a compliment, and hacking meant creative, unorthodox problem-solving to overcome the limitations of early computers. This understanding of hacking was prevalent until the 1980s when cybercrime became more common and the term “hacking” started to become associated with it.

In 1986, a hacker who called himself “The Mentor” became disturbed by the many arrests of his fellow hackers. He wrote the “Hacker’s Manifesto” to explain what a hacker is at the core. He describes his frustration with teachers explaining math that he was already doing in his head. Then he talks about making a life-changing discovery: A computer does what he tells it to do. If it makes a mistake, it’s because he “screwed up,” not because it doesn’t like him or feels threatened by him or doesn’t like teaching. In other words, the computer is a great teacher and very different from a school teacher. One key component of hacker culture is this deep and abiding love for the computer and what it does—as well as a disdain for formal education. The fact that famous hackers like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk are all college dropouts makes this point. The “Hacker’s Manifesto” inspired many people to become hackers because they identified with The Mentor.