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One way to "hack the system" is to do what you said - employ some type of deception or misdirection in order to gain something you shouldn't. Another way is to
by Rust 17y ago
One way to "hack the system" is to do what you said - employ some type of deception or misdirection in order to gain something you shouldn't.
Another way is to re-purpose something to do what it wasn't designed to do. For example, any contraption that would be called a "Rube Goldberg Machine" would qualify as (non-computer) hacking. MAKE Magazine is full of hacks of this nature as well. The Burning Man Festival is a great place to see things hacked together.
Another way might be to fix a perceived flaw through unorthodox means. For example, I put new pickups in my guitar, and they were too hot (too loud, bad distortion). Instead of replacing them (they sounded awesome at lower volumes), I routed the pickup holes to be slightly deeper, then wired in a bypass switch, letting me choose to have a normal tone or naturally overdriven (good distortion) tone. Drummers who put tape over part of a drum skin are hacking their system. Guitarists with old Stratocasters often file their nuts and lower the bridge for better tone.
So I respectfully disagree - one can definitely be a (non-computer) hacker and be ethical at the same time.
- coryl 17y agoGreat points, I understand your idea about hacking a system. But PG alludes to "obedience" in his comment and "middle of the road" people, leading me to believe he wants to see some sort of gain over the system. A rube goldberg machine doesn't really fit that profile. Fixing your guitar up doesn't really beat the system. Sure you hacked it up and saved money, but did it really show how clever you are? (Not that I'm saying you aren't)
- Rust 17y agoI consider what I did to my guitar beating the system ;) But then, I'm a guitarist so that's in my domain. It would have been cheaper to just get middle-of-the-road pickups instead - less money, less gain (in a signal-strength sense). Having said that, I understand your point. My examples were not necessarily about beating a system, but changing how that system relates to myself (or whomever). And I did get to type the phrase "file their nuts" with a straight face. Inconveniently, I am having trouble coming up with relevant examples of ethical, non-computer hacking resulting in some sort of net gain unrelated to a select niche of people (like guitarists). I'll have to get back to you on that one...
- p6 17y agoYou guys sound like a bunch of Biblical scholars trying to interpret the word of God. "What did PG (Jesus) mean when he said X??" Focus on building your application and not holding to every word of your false idol.
- anitgram 17y agoYou guys sound like a bunch of Biblical scholars trying to interpret the word of God. "What did PG (Jesus) mean when he said X??" Focus on building your application and not holding to every word of your false idol.
- coryl 17y agoThis is a discussion about business ethics and philosophy, framed in the context of PG and YC's application. Why don't you focus on building YOUR application instead of being a fat wiener?
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]
- anitgram 17y agoNo it sounds more like you didnt make it to a YC interview, and so now instead of pressing on you are trying to figure out how you can impress PG (your god). Press on and stop indulging in PG's participatory narcissism. He is only impressed with himself.