Readings

The readings for this week revolve around identity, culture, and the general ethos of the tech industry. In particular, we will focus on the Hacker Culture and how that has had an impact on the perception of what it means to be a computer scientist or engineer.

1. Bridges, Software Engineering, and God

2. Programmers: Stop Calling Yourselves Engineers

3. Hackers and Painters

4. Mark Zuckerberg's Letter to Investors: The Hacker Way

5. The Capitol of Meritocracy is Silicon Valley, Not Wall Street

6. Silicon Valley Isn't a Meritocracy. And It's Dangerous to Hero-Worship Entrepreneurs

7. How Silicon Valley Has Disrupted Philanthropy

8. Sean Parker: Philanthropy for Hackers

Note: You should read the articles above for the week. To answer one of the question prompts below, you may need to read some of the additional optional readings.

Optional: Hackers

These additional readings further explore what it means to be a hacker and the culture that has been built up around this image.

1. The Conscience of a Hacker

2. A Portrait of J. Random Hacker

3. The Word "Hacker" and Great Hackers

4. How yuppies hacked the original hacker ethos

Optional: Meritocracy

These additional readings further explore the notion of meritocracy, which is a central tenet in the technology industry.

1. The Post-Meritocracy Manifesto

2. Naive meritocracy and the meanings of myth

3. Why hiring the ‘best’ people produces the least creative results

4. The Unexotic Underclass

Optional: Philanthropy

These additional readings consider the generosity and philanthropy of some of tech's biggest names.

1. A letter to our daughter

2. How the Gates Foundation Reflects the Good and the Bad of "Hacker Philanthropy"

3. Steve Jobs, World’s Greatest Philanthropist

4. In praise of Richard Stallman, GNU's open sourcerer

Questions

Please write a response to one of the following questions:

1. From the readings and from your experience, is Computer Science an art, engineering, or science discipline? Does it matter how it is categorized or viewed by either its practioners or the general public? Explain your thoughts and the implications of your assessment.

2. From the readings and from your experience, what exactly is a hacker? That is, what are the key characteristics of the hacker archetype? Do you identify with these attributes? That is, would you consider yourself a hacker? What is your reaction to this characterization?

3. From the readings and from your experience, is the technology industry a meritocracy (what does that actually mean)? If it is, then is that a good thing or a bad thing? If it is not, should it try to be?

4. Of the following computing luminaries, who is the most moral or ethical: Richard Stallman, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or Mark Zuckerberg? Who is the least? Discuss your reasoning and provide support for your positions.

   What if we changed the question to who has had the most positive effect on the world rather than who was the most ethical or moral. Does that change your assessment of any of the persons? Explain.