
So, You’ve Hired a Hacker (2016) - evo_9
https://cjshayward.com/so-youve-hired-a-hacker/
======
treatpeoplewell
I literally created a Hacker News account solely for the purpose of observing
that this is a terrible article and the author should feel terrible for
writing it.

The idea that social maladaptation and/or rudeness is some sort of marker for
talent is garbage, and wrong.

Furthermore, the idea that talent is or should be an EXCUSE for social
maladaptation or rudeness is ALSO garbage, and wrong.

~~~
orev
Many people see successful people who are socially maladjusted and try to
emulate the maladjustment part in hopes of replicating the success.
Correlation <> causation

~~~
WalterSear
Are you saying I bought all these black turtleneck sweaters for nothing?!?

------
TooBrokeToBeg
> IBM used to report that certain programmers might be as much as 100 times as
> productive as other workers, or more. This kind of thing happens.

yeah, but that report is worthless, in context.

[https://vimeo.com/9270320](https://vimeo.com/9270320)

This whole article seems like it was written by someone who is still attending
high school.

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hasbroslasher
What the hell is this? "There are two kinds of people" reductionist nonsense
with some "10x engineer" nonsense AND some "you should let people play video
games at work" nonsense thrown in to boot?

Anyways, this strange "2 kinds of people" logic never fits in the real world.
My old manager was a hacker by this guy's understanding, and he did both roles
well. And not all "hackers" are actually all that _good_ at actual software
engineering - they might be interested, interesting, different, etc. but they
don't ALWAYS ooze productivity and talent. People exist on a spectrum that
stupid blog posts like this eschew in favor of punchy, compact worldviews that
appeal to people ("managers") who don't have time to understand people
personally.

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crunchlibrarian
None of the words used to describe the hacker category applies to me or any
hackers I know in real life. The manager description is much better for your
average hacker, especially the bits about morality, and forgetting about how
other people can be different from them.

~~~
shawn
The hacker category is described almost perfectly, in my experience. It fits
the truly high level people I've been fortunate enough to know.

It's probably important to realize that most devs aren't hackers. Not in the
traditional sense of the word. I aspire to be, but in many ways I fall short.
And I work every day, all day on it, most days.

Simply being a programmer doesn't automatically make you a hacker, just like
having a boyfriend doesn't automatically make you in love. And like love, you
probably know whether you are.

The defining characteristic of a hacker is probably an unusual sense of
blending computers with your own identity. Computers are seen as a tool for
changing the world, not merely a means to a paycheck. And that necessarily
means that your identity with your work extends outside of normal work hours,
since it's inseparable from who you are.

Good hackers have a variety of other hobbies, of course. But the base traits
described in the article seem to line up nicely on average (if it's even
possible to average the highest echelon of programmers).

~~~
organsnyder
If that's the definition of "hacker", then I'd argue that they should be
avoided. The most effective devs are the ones that are able to understand the
needs of their customers, communicate, and weigh competing priorities. The
technical skills are table stakes.

------
rf15
That manager description seems....off. ...Was this written by a manager?

The hacker description is very interesting though and reflects my experience
mostly

~~~
organsnyder
The whole thing reads like it was written by a hacker that I would hate
working with. Bunch of self-absorbed bullshit.

> May have intense powers of concentration. Prizes an offbeat and clever sense
> of humor. At times, painfully aware of inconsistencies that are invisible to
> the people who are acting hypocritically. Marches to the beat of a different
> drummer, and needs to work at understanding people like managers.

i.e. Incapable of empathy.

~~~
stochastic_monk
Both descriptions are somewhat aggrandizing. The points about dress are
perhaps useful, however.

------
mikeymz
Generalisations never stand up to scrutiny and (like this article) tend to be
a bit niave

~~~
maxxxxx
The article is not totally wrong but it goes into stereotypes way too much. I
have seen managers and hackers all over the introvert/extrovert spectrum.
Maybe hackers are on average a little more introvert but not to the level that
this generalization is useful. Alan Kay's "more ways to kill the golden goose"
is more helpful.

------
BrandoElFollito
While the article is poorly written, it highlights the fact that there may be
genuine differences in the way the two categories work.

I am a hacker at heart. At 47 I learn everyday, challenge developers all the
time and spend an inconsiderate time building more or less useless IoT
devices.

I am also a very senior manager for 20 years. I managed all kind of people but
it was always vastly easier to manage hackers than standard (and good)
employees. I usually say at interview time that I am not a good manager and
expect people to be very independent.

I am also in this incredibly lucky situation to have a fantastic boss who
somehow understands this (he is extremely intelligent but not a hacker at
all). I believe that companies would gain a lot matching hackers-managers with
hackers, something which rarely happens.

------
zekevermillion
Reminds me of Alan Kay statements regarding 'new ways to kill the geese that
lay golden eggs' (previous HN discussion)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16040127](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16040127)

------
nerflad
HN hug of death.

Archive:
[https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https:...](https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://cjshayward.com/so-
youve-hired-a-hacker/)

------
reacweb
I do not think this article is very insightful, but I love this quote: "How
should I manage my hacker? The same way you herd cats."

------
teddyh
Maybe more appropriate for this audience is the companion piece “ _Manager
FAQ_ ”:
[http://www.seebs.net/faqs/manager.html](http://www.seebs.net/faqs/manager.html)

------
joker3
The description of this article should be updated with the date (1999).

------
adricnet
Thanks for the share. I enjoyed this article and may be able to put some of it
to work. I don't quite understand all of the negative responses.

------
dumbfounder
Sysadmins are not hackers by this definition. They are the ones that make all
the rules.

------
shawn
It's interesting that the only ones speaking up are those that seem to have a
problem with the article. As a counterpoint, I find the article apt.

Like men who worry when they start to go bald, you're more likely to notice
when you don't have some trait that seems desirable. No one else really cares
whether you identify as a hacker, but it's interesting how many people here
seem to.

I think it's important to be aware that being a programmer does not
automatically make you a hacker. The real hackers are few and far between, and
if you claim to be one, you might want to reexamine that notion. It's like
claiming to be an Olympic swimmer: a very specific skillset that people work
all their lives to attain, and few are good enough to swim with the best.

~~~
treatpeoplewell
The reason so many people are complaining is that "I worked with a terrible
co-worker who was incapable of understanding that working well with others is
an essential part of being a great engineer" is a near-universal experience.
And this article literally puts that terrible co-worker on a pedestal and says
"If you have an engineer who is bad at their job, leave them alone and let
them continue to be bad at their job."

