What image does the word "hacker" or "hacking" create in your mind? Perhaps you see someone desperately typing away at their computer, or think of the words "Access Granted."
 |
| Google Image Results for "hacker" |
Hack first came to be associated with computers and machines at MIT itself. In a transcript from a meeting of the Tech Model Railroad Club in April of 1955, there is a quote that states: “Mr. Eccles requests that anyone working or hacking on the electrical system turn the power off to avoid fuse blowing.”
The word's connotation relative to machines started off positive. The term meant just working on a problem in a creative way, relative to MIT.
In the 1960s, the definition expanded out of MIT to computer scientists and engineers in general. In fact, it held positive connotations, as evidenced by the definitions for "hacker" in the Jargon File (launched in 1975). Here are the eight definitions:
The majority of the definitions given here are approving, like 4. "A person who is good at programming quickly." But the negative connotation in 8 seems to have won out on the long run. Especially in the media and outside of the tech world, "hacker" is used maliciously. The first time the word "hacker' appears in Times reads: "Computer hackers often sell the stolen codes to other students for a few dollars."
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act popularized this negative connotation as well, in a political sense (again outside of the tech world). It has been used in the prosecution of people like Julian Assange and Aaron Swartz.
However, its positive connotation lingers in tech culture, especially to identify others. The juxtaposition of the word's meaning proves to draw a sharp line between techies and those outside the tech world, and it will prove interesting to see how the word continues to evolve.
-Sohini
-Sohini
No comments:
Post a Comment