Bill Mei@Kortaggio

Thinking Like a Hacker

What is a Hacker?

Bill Mei@Kortaggio

hacker /hkr/ noun1. a person who uses computers to gain unauthorized access to data.

2. an enthusiastic and skillful computer programmer or user.

3. a person who engages in an activity without talent or skill.

4. a person who subverts an established system to his/her personal advantage.

What is a Hacker?

Bill Mei@Kortaggio

Hack your diet

Hack your sleep

Hack your education

Hack your brain

Hack your life

Hack your refrigerator

Hack the kitchen sink

Close, but no cigar

Bill Mei@Kortaggio

For now, just assume a Hacker refers to someone who is passionate about using computers.

Ill tell you the answer later

Why do Hackers salivate to the words Open Source?

Bill Mei@Kortaggio

And the food tastes awful.

What can you do? Walk away

Dont tip your server

Leave a bad review on Yelp

Complain to your friends

Turns out, a container labelled sugar is actually filled with salt

Imagine sitting at a restaurant

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But You cant fix the problem because the restaurant is closed source.

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What if the restaurant wasopen source?

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What can you do? Walk away

Dont tip your server

Leave a bad review on Yelp

Complain to your friends

Fix the problem yourself

Imagine sitting at a restaurant

Bill Mei@Kortaggio

Open Source means that you can take action to make things better

Whats the best programming language?

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Fastest?

Most reliable?

Easiest to write?

Easiest to read?

Has the largest libraries?

Most powerful?

Define Best

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Power = Leverage

Bill Mei@Kortaggio

High leverage

Less code doing more stuff

Low leverage

More code doing less stuff

Example:

Lets say a program in C takes 50 lines

The same program in Haskell takes 10 lines

Therefore, Haskell is 5x more powerful than C

What is Leverage?

Bill Mei@Kortaggio

Smaller amount of code means:

Program takes less time to read (easier to scan)

Program takes less time to write (fewer things to memorize)

Program occupies less space in your head

Program is more poetic

Do more stuff with less code

Why count lines of code?

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Example: Leverage

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Give me all the even square numbers that are smaller than 100JAVA

import java.util.*;

public class ListComprehension {

public static void main(String[] args) {

ArrayList s = new ArrayList();

ArrayList result = new ArrayList();

for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {

s.add(i * i);

}

for (Iterator i = s.iterator(); i.hasNext(); ) {

int j = (int) i.next();

if (j % 2 == 0) {

result.add(j);

}

}

System.out.println(result);

}

}

PYTHON

s = [x**2 for x in range(10)]

print [x for x in s if x % 2 == 0]

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Succinct code is like poetry

ENCYCLOPEDIA

Unskilled individuals suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly rating their ability much higher than average. This bias is attributed to a metacognitive inability of the unskilled to recognize their mistakes. Actual competence may weaken self-confidence, as competent individuals may falsely assume that others have an equivalent understanding.

SHAKESPEARE

The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.

(DunningKruger effect)

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Dont tell hackers which language to use!

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I want you to use C++

Instead of Ruby

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1. http://www.lowes.com/images/LCI/Planning/BuyingGuides/bg_PowerNailerBuyignGuide_stick.jpg2. http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/hammer-1.jpg

I want you to use a

Instead of a

Whats next for technology?

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Whats next? or Whats popular?

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Do more with less Reach more people with less effort

Make more features with less time

Produce more products with less resources

Etc.

Leverage: Another way of thinking about technology

Bill Mei@Kortaggio

By definition: Technology is Leverage!

Bill Mei@Kortaggio

Agriculture: Your Hands

Shovels

Ox plows

Tractors

Transportation: Horses

Trains

Cars

Airplanes

The history of technology is ahistory of leverage

Communication: Mail

Telegraph

Telephone

Internet

Education: Grandpas stories

Books

Brick and Mortar Schools

Virtual Schools

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To think about the future of technology, think about how to increase leverage

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Increasing Leverage

Decreasing Mass

Bill Mei@Kortaggio

An unanswered question

What is a Hacker?

Bill Mei@Kortaggio

hacker /hkr/ noun1. a person who uses computers to gain unauthorized access to data.

2. an enthusiastic and skillful computer programmer or user.

3. a person who engages in an activity without talent or skill.

4. a person who subverts an established system to his/her personal advantage.

What is a Hacker?

Bill Mei@Kortaggio

Hack your diet

Hack your sleep

Hack your education

Hack your brain

Hack your life

Hack your refrigerator

Hack the kitchen sink

Close, but no cigar

Bill Mei@Kortaggio

What is a Hacker?

Bill Mei@Kortaggio

Someone who makes a big impact with relatively small effort

Bill Mei@Kortaggio

Thank you!QUESTIONS?

Exercises

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Automation

Black Box thinking, or reductionism

Functional thinking

Forms of Leverage