So You've Hired a Hacker (Revised and Expanded)

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Section 6: Is there anything else I should know?

6.1: I've found this document to be tremendously helpful. Is there anything I can do to say thank-you?

Wonderful of you to ask, and you certainly can. There are two authors who've contributed to this document, an original and a revision author. Both would appreciate cash donations (e-mail the original/revision authors for details). The revision author would be very happy to receive a link to his home page: (Search & Sitemap) (Browse around and see what he has to offer!)

You might also consider buying a couple of books through the links on these pages; you get cool books, and the authors get pocket change. :) The books listed in the original version will give money to the original author, while the books added in the revision will give money to the revision author.

If you'd like to give something to one of the authors, but don't know which, why not flip a coin?

6.2: Are there any books that will help me understand my hacker?

Excellent question. Yes, there are. The following list is suggested:

• Please Understand Me or Please Understand Me II

  What I said above about common manager/hacker differences was drawn from Please Understand Me as well as experience. Most hackers are intuitive thinking types, while managers who are confused by hackers tend to be sensate judging types. If you're in a hurry, buy Please Understand Me and read the descriptions for sensate judging and intuitive thinking types. You may find them tremendously helpful in understanding hackers. I've found them tremendously helpful in understanding managers.

  Please Understand Me came out in the 1970s and describes what people are like. Please Understand Me II came out in the 1990s and describes both what people are like and what they can do. (It's about twice as long.) I prefer Please Understand Me.

• The New Hacker's Dictionary (available online)

  Read the introduction and appendices; they're worth their weight in gold. Then read a definition a day--you'll learn a lot. This book is probably the #1 hacker classic, and provides an invaluable asset into understanding hacker thought. Don't worry if parts of it are hard to understand--you'll still learn something, and your hacker can probably explain the harder parts.

• Stranger in a Strange Land or Firestorm 2034 (online only)

  Stranger in a Strange Land is a classic novel about a person who is raised by Martians and is brought to earth, a Martian mind in the body of a young man. There are not any hackers in this story, but if you can understand the protagonist in this story, you may find it much easier to understand and appreciate your hacker. Think of it as driving an automatic after you've learned to drive a stick.

  Firestorm 2034 is a story about a medieval genius brought to the 21^st century. He is traumatized by his first contacts with computers, but grows to be fascinated, and learns to program. The reader is with him as he understands technology and makes a discovery in artificial intelligence. This book was written to convey insight into certain kinds of people. If you read it, you should find it easier to understand your hacker--and perhaps grasp technology a little better, to boot! It is my second novel.

  Ok, why is an unknown author putting his book next to a Heinlein classic? A few reasons:

  • It draws heavily on Heinlein's work.
  • It's less than a third as long as Stranger. To a busy leader, that counts for a lot.
  • It's written by someone who understands technology, and who weaves technology deeply into the story.
  • Readers like it. One actually said he liked it better than Stranger.
  • There's less stuff that's likely to offend you.
  • I have been published in more than one respected journal. The editor of the high-IQ journal Ubiquity saw my work, and asked to feature me in their fall/winter 2001 issue--with a biography, a few writings, a painting, and a four dimensional maze. I'm not completely unknown as an author.

  But it's your call which novel to read--and I won't question your judgment if you choose Stranger.

• Guiding the Gifted Child

  This award-winning title is a very practical book because it conveys understanding. It does a good enough job of it to be useful to several different kinds of people. It will help you understand the sort of people who become hackers.

  This also is the only book on this list specifically intended to help people guide hacker-like people.

• The Cathedral and the Bazaar

  Perhaps this has happened already. Or perhaps it will happen any day.

  You try to reason with your hacker, and say, "Windows was made by the heavily funded efforts of a major corporation. Linux was made by some programmers on their spare time, and you can get it for free. Is Linux really as good as Windows?"

  Your hacker rolls his eyes, appears to be counting to ten, gives you a very dirty look, and slowly says, "Is the upcoming band performance next door--live, in concert--really as good as this scratched-up CD?"

  Your hacker believes that open source software is normally better than MicroSoft, and has very good reason to do so. This book explains why--and it may help you to get better software for less money, and put your business in a more competitive position. As far as hacker culture goes, it only illuminates a small part, but it does so very well.

Unfortunately, none of these books was specifically written to explain hacker culture to non-hackers. Fortunately, your hacker can help you connect the dots and put things together. Just ask him!

6.3: Has this F.A.Q. been published?

The original version, in some form, has been bought by IBM DeveloperWorks, which funded part of the work. You could read their version (nicely edited) by following this link (non-functional as of 12/31/01; I've contacted IBM requesting a current URL and am waiting to hear back). IBM has also bought another article, the Manager F.A.Q., a guide to managers for hackers who are frustrated and confused by corporate life. The original author is justifiably happy with his work.

I am working towards publishing the revised and expanded version.

What's the copyright status on this? Can I make copies and share it with a friend who's confused by his hacker?

You may distribute as many copies of this document as you want. The original F.A.Q. has the following notice:

This document is copyright 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999 Peter Seebach. Unaltered distribution is permitted.

When I let the original author know I was interested in a revision, and asked what the copyright status was, he said it was covered by the Artistic License. All changes in this revision are also covered by the Artistic License, all added material copyright 2001 by Jonathan Hayward. Distribute freely.

What's the author's e-mail, and what's the official distribution site?

The original is officially distributed at http://www.plethora.net/~seebs/faqs/hacker.html by seebs@plethora.net, and the revision is at http://JonathansCorner.com/writing/hacker/ by jshayward@pobox.com.

Are there any people the revision author would like to thank?

Yes. Jonathan Hayward would very much like to thank the original author, Peter Seebach, for writing an excellent F.A.Q. and for giving him permission to modify it.

Any disclaimers?

DISCLAIMER: Both authors are hackers. Bias is inevitable.

Revision 1.0--Last modified June 9, 2001

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(Search & Sitemap) > Writing > Miscellaneous Nonfiction > So You've Hired a Hacker (Revised and Expanded)
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