The hacker ethic
By: Pekka Himanen
Ch. 1 – The hacker work ethic
The chapter discusses the hacker work ethic and compares it to the working ethic of protestant religion.
In the hacker’s point of view, the task of programming is something enjoy full and exiting even challenging, not seen as work. It is the passion for the challenge and exploration that motivates these kinds of people to dedicate their time and life for what they do. This kind of attitude can be applied to al kinds of work and is not only bound to computer programming.
The discussion of this ethic is compared to the old point of view on working with the example of protestant religion. The religions view emphasized that work was something that had to be done to show vigilance before god, a task without a benefit or prize. Even if a task was considered hard and with now point it should not be questioned but executed humbly. Pursuing something that was considered working for benefits and enjoyment was a seen as work of the devil. People with this attitude would end up in hell and work meaninglessly for eternity.
The comparison of these views is made to shed some light over how modern day society sees the working ethic. That some people work for the sake of accomplishing something that may even not like but se it as a necessity. While other work for passion and consider their work more of a hobby.
Ch. 2 – Time is money?
The discussion in this chapter focuses on the time management in a hacker lifestyle vs. a time-scheduled worker.
Time relation for hackers is working individually and when they want. As a hacker you take responsibility of your own time and work in a pace that allows you be flexible between work and relaxation without the boundaries of what is considered a working day.
This view clashes with the technological age because time has become valuable.
The quick pace of modern day engulfs people and makes them divide their day into a working schedule. To be able to keep up, every minute of the day has to be kept in account. The author discusses hoe people in the fast lane deprive themselves of freedom by making themselves slaves under time. How we implement technology such as phones microwaves to save time and be able to work more.
This chapter worked as a good eye opener for myself, and how I live my life. It got me thinking on how this fast pace of time has stressed me these last couple weeks. Modern times have really made us able to be on the go and available al the time, giving us fewer excuses to slow down and be relaxed.
It’s a good chapter I really recommend everyone reading it.
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So it seems like Kamil would like to live in a slower paced environment. I do see the merit of this, but I also see the benefits of working a lot when you are young. In my mind, it is a constant battle, do I want to work hard, and possibly retire early and comfortably? Or do I want to have a good time when I am young and work til I am too old and unable to explore? Like most things, I think it is a mix, but I am wiling to work hard when I am young so I can perhaps stop working a bit earlier. And, I would definitely love to find a job that makes me feel like a hacker.
SvaraRaderaI think that there might be a slight cultural difference here. In Sweden it has been hard to make that kind of money so that you kan retire early. It's also, for a lot of people, considered greedy. We like to be "lagom". So that is not as strong motivator here. Eventhough the dotcom era have changed things a bit. I agree with you a mix is probably the right thing and it seems like the society has changed you can move in and out of the job market, taking breaks. But I agree with the authors the speed is increasing and we can't do anything about it. Our countries are on the top, there's a lot talanted people around the world that would love to live like us. If we want to keep it we have to work for it. I guess we just have to learn how to handle it. People that work a lot seems to be pretty good at relaxing, when they can and sleep well.
SvaraRaderaI think this is a nice slow pace of life here and you can make good money if you find the right job. Only trouble there is that you have to continue to make it in order to keep it,like any larger city nowadays. Unless your lucky enough to win triss and hold on to life that way.
SvaraRadera