Hacking4Life :P

     Believe it or not, I always wanted to start a start-up. There is a lot that goes into it that I am not prepared for including an idea of what to create, but I like the idea of a startup. It seems like a hacker's dream that you can do what you love with people who share the same passion. ”A startup is not merely ten people, but ten people like you”. I have never wanted to work for big companies, although they were all start-ups once before, I enjoy working in small groups especially to help others out. It definitely costs a ton of money and time, but if you are really passionate about it then, it will not feel that bad (at least for the first month of sleepless nights).       In general, I love the idea Graham proposed of wealth being something that can be created, there is not a fixed amount of wealth available, and it is more than money. However,  I have always said that I would make a great rich person, maybe it was because I wanted money, but I stand by my statement. But wh

     This is way above my pay grade, so please take everything I say lightly. I was surprised to hear how big an impact LISP made on what many would consider today’s ‘need to know’ languages like Python and Java. After reading these essays, the first thing that came to mind was power vs popularity. LISP was created in the late 50s, yet according to the reading, LISP shares many of the main features of Python and Java with additional exclusive features. LISP had the power, yet Python and Java are more popular at least to the average person. Why don’t we just go back and use LISP, if everything is a child of LISP? Python and Java are also fairly new, so why are they used? In the last group of essays, something that I never realized was how impactful American culture has been on computing. Because programming is an American-bred and raised thing, I think it is natural for people to look at the newest thing, but how long will that last? It seems like every language is just a new trend.    

In my opinion, Graham defines a hacker as a rule breaker who creates and designs beautiful software. He related painters and architects to hackers by saying they were all makers. Oddly enough, I initially believed computer science to be a very creative field, which deterred me because I felt that I was not creative enough. However, my perception changed into something very technical and “sciencey” which is wrong too, but like everything, there is a mix. Graham's comparison to painters was a reminder that there can be aspects of both. There are technical aspects that you need to understand, but they are used to creatively design solutions. Graham portrayed hackers as the people I aspire to be. Those who lead with curiosity, think outside of the box unapologetically act on it, empathize, and make many mistakes. Many would call me a quiet person. I tend to pay attention to the small things because sometimes I find that the small things can have a huge impact on the bigger things. It i