Mikel Berger

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July 30, 2004

Paul Graham - Great Hackers

Another interesting article with insights into programmers by Paul Graham. Some choice quotes...

In programming, as in many fields, the hard part isn't solving problems, but deciding what problems to solve. Imagination is hard to measure, but in practice it dominates the kind of productivity that's measured in lines of code.

Great hackers think of it [writing code] as something they do for fun, and which they're delighted to find people will pay them for.

Good hackers find it unbearable to use bad tools. They'll simply refuse to work on projects with the wrong infrastructure

I would agree with Chris and disagree with Paul about the Python/Java and NT statements. I think Paul's TCP/IP statement is true but now we've moved up the stack. At the level I hack/program/develop, it's just an operating system. I need some control over it but not as much Paul implies I would.

Business types prefer the most popular languages because they view languages as standards. ... The thing about languages, though, is that they're not just standards. ... A programming language is a medium of expression.

I think Paul is behind on the .Net bandwagon. Lots more hackers like .NET, even slashdot gets excited about Mono (not that slashdot is exactly filled with great hackers) because it's a good tool.

The problem is, if you're not a hacker, you can't tell who the good hackers are. ... There's no way around it: you can't manage a process intended to produce beautiful things without knowing what beautiful is.

It seems like the only way to judge a hacker is to work with him on something. And this is the reason that high-tech areas only happen around universities. The active ingredient here is not so much the professors as the students. Startups grow up around universities because universities bring together promising young people and make them work on the same projects. The smart ones learn who the other smart ones are, and together they cook up new projects of their own.

The people I've met who do great work rarely think that they're doing great work. They generally feel that they're stupid and lazy, that their brain only works properly one day out of ten, and that it's only a matter of time until they're found out. If there is a Michael Jordan of hacking, no one knows, including him.

So I should give up trying to figure out good of a programming I am. If I'm good, I won't know it. If I'm not good, then my thoughts that I'm not good will be accurate. The only other option is that I'm not good but think I am. I'm pretty sure I'm not in that category, but I've met some people who are :)

I'd always supposed that all smart people were curious; that curiosity was simply the first derivative of knowledge.

Curiosity and passion, I think the two go hand in hand.

But apparently hackers are particularly curious, especially about how things work. That makes sense, because programs are in effect giant descriptions of how things work.

I remember the first time I ever visted Kyle's office when I was in CPT 255. Just before I left he asked me if I liked to take things apart when I was younger. Seemed like a strange question at the time.

One difference I've noticed between great hackers and smart people in general is that hackers are more politically incorrect. To the extent there is a secret handshake among good hackers, it's when they know one another well enough to express opinions that would get them stoned to death by the general public. ... In such situations it's helpful to have a habit of questioning assumptions

you never have to work on boring projects (unless your family will starve otherwise), and in return, you'll never allow yourself to do a half-assed job.

Of course, I've only pulled out the parts I agree with in some vain attempt to make myself feel like a great hacker and dismissed the parts that don't align with me. It's sort of like reading your horoscope, you can pick and chose the parts you like so it applies to almost anyone.

Anyway, I've been lazy enough for today. Yesterday was a good day (not a 1 in 10 day, but close), today isn't looking so hot.

Posted by mikel at July 30, 2004 08:53 AM

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