HACKER Q&A
📣 bryanrasmussen

Top Clever Hacks


Last night when I couldn't sleep one of the things that went through my head is the difference between the pejorative and non-pejorative meaning for hacker, for the non-pejorative I wanted to come up with an example for a hack would illustrate the concept but the things that started to come to mind were in programming. Rather than devote more time to it in my head I figured I could go through a bunch of lifehacks links but maybe it would be better to ask HN what you consider to be the top clever hacks that you would use to explain the non-pejorative meaning.


  👤 muzani Accepted Answer ✓
If you just want to explain the meaning, I usually explain the root word. It's like hacking at something with an axe.

You have a door that's built of steel, has a physical and biometric lock, requires a 16 digit password, probably withstands a grenade. Grab a (pick) axe and hack through a wall or window instead.

Someone hacking a tunnel to get to work faster, we respect their will, creativity, and that hint of rebelliousness.

For the pejorative, it's someone thuglike. A hacker isn't a professional lockpicker. They're just hitting every wall with an axe. There's no finesse, even among criminals. But they're also the reason you don't have windows; why you need to use special characters and numbers in your password.


👤 eimrine
Garbage collector, the greatest hack ever by Unkle Bob's opinion.