The Hacker Ethic: A Radical Approach to the Philosophy of Business

The Hacker Ethic: A Radical Approach to the Philosophy of Business

3.71 of 5 stars 3.71  ·  rating details  ·  245 ratings  ·  15 reviews
You may be a hacker and not even know it. Being a hacker has nothing to do with cyberterrorism, and it doesn’t even necessarily relate to the open-source movement. Being a hacker has more to do with your underlying assumptions about stress, time management, work, and play. It’s about harmonizing the rhythms of your creative work with the rhythms of the rest of your life so...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published February 12th 2002 by Random House Trade Paperbacks (first published January 1st 2001)
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Andrew G. Gibson
Why the central notion (to call it an idea would be going too far) of this needed to be stretched to the point of cobweb-like insubstantiality escapes me. The length of a pamphlet might have sustained it. Even better might have been for it to be an essay. Though I may seem overly harsh on a book that is over a decade old by now, it is worth noting that Eric Raymond's essays on similar topics (collected in 1999's The Cathedral and the Bazaar) still stands up to scrutiny. Quite what the unique con...more
Scribe
Picked this up from the library rather randomly, and read it in 3 days - very thought provoking, especially because even though it's written 10 years ago, so much of what it grapples with is still - or even more - relevant today. While Egypt was flaring up, it was fascinating to read about how the Internet was used in the 1999 Kosovo crisis.

But for me the first 2 parts - on money as motivation, and our attitude towards work - were the most riveting. The "Hacker Ethic" is still clearly alive toda...more
Ricardo Roman
La ética del hacker y el espíritu de la era de la información, es una excelente visión de cómo se está creando valor profesional, social y de negocios a partir de internet. Recuperando en sentido origila del término "hacker" como inventores apasionados (y no como "cracker" que son los delincuentes informáticos) describe el espíritu, los valores, las habilidades y el mundo de los innovadores en la red. Elementos claves en la era wikinomics o Long Tail, como la pasión, la colaboración, el comparti...more
Michael Hirsch
A good read about the "Hacker ethic". That's Hacker as in problem solver, not as in "cracker"--someone who breaks into computers.

The book is one person's, though a deep thinking person's, view of how the hacker ethic fits in to modern society. His view is that the protestant ethic of valuing hard work for the sake of it is passe (I don't know how to make the accent on the e). The new value is working hard at something because it is fun and meaningful.

I strongly agree with that basic premise, tho...more
Franco Vite
Che mi ricordi il primo saggio che si occupa di etica hacker, e non di hackers, e che lo fa dal punto di vista del riflesso della loro cultura sulla moderna società digitale e non dal punto di vista cronachistico (per non dire scandalistico ... ).
Un saggio a maggior ragione apprezzabile alla luce del recente diffondersi del fenomeno blog prima, e di quello dei social network poi.
Da leggere, assolutamente.
Javier Novoa Cataño
Me quedo con esto:
From the hacker viewpoint, leisure-centeredness may be just as undesirable as work-centeredness. Hackers want to do something significant: they want to create. While they avoid work that does not give rise to an opportunity for creativity, they also consider leisure as such insufficient as an ideal state. A Sunday spent in apathetic leisure can be as insufferable as a Friday.

Hackers do not feel that leisure time is automatically any more meaningful than work time. The desirabil...more
Scott
Book started w/ an interesting overview of the Protestant Ethic and how that evolved into today's society. But later on the book turned into more of a motivational self help which was not expected.
Mike
Finally, a book that embraces my kind of work ethic as something other than "disorganized laziness". A great read that goes quickly and offers some interesting ideas on how the ethics of the hacker world could make the world a better place for everyone.
Gabe Mounce
An outstanding philosophical discussion on work, play, and living. This book closely aligns with the other two books in my list, "Maverick" and "The Seven Day Weekend". The author makes and outstanding argument that the typical idea that pervades Western thought when it comes to working, The Protestant Work Ethic (which he explains is not a religious concept), is no longer valid. He introduces the Hacker Ethic, a way to enjoy doing what you do to make a living. The book is highly intriguing and...more
Pasquale
Saggio brillante sulla rivoluzione informatica dell'ultimo quarto di secolo scorso legata al mondo hacker. Una pietra miliare. Ma noioso in alcuni punti.
Rufus
general review. the first two parts are good. the third part is kinda jargony and boring.
Preston Lee
Small note: definitely read the forward by Linus Torvalds.
Julaine
Find out purchase date.
Noora
Mielenkiintoinen tenttikirja.
Alexander
Discussion on Hacker Ethics in comparison with the Protestant or Work Ethics.
sefatron
May 19, 2013 sefatron marked it as to-read
S.M.
May 18, 2013 S.M. marked it as to-read
Restaino
May 11, 2013 Restaino marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: acquistati
Barry
May 01, 2013 Barry marked it as to-read
Hope Roesler price
Apr 23, 2013 Hope Roesler price marked it as to-read
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Kukoistuksen käsikirjoitus Himeros The Hacker Ethic Filosofian oikeudenkäynti A Ética dos Hackers e o espírito da era da informação: a importâcia dos exploradores da era digital

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“One might say that there is an "ethics barrier " a speed above which ethics can no longer exit. After that point the only remaining goal is to survive the immediate moment.” 3 people liked it
“This primary question of life organization is immensely important. If making money is the main goal, a person can often forget what his or her true interests are or how he or she wants to deserve recognition from others. It is much more difficult to add on other values to a life that started out with just making money in mind than it is to make some personally interesting endeavor financially possible or even profitable.” 3 people liked it
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