Readings

The readings for Tuesday, February 14 are:

1. Why Nerds Are Unpopular

2. Hackers and Painters

3. What You Can't Say

4. Good Bad Attitude

Writings

In these essays, Paul Graham paints¹ a portrait of the modern hacker, who though "unruly" is a "maker" that "learn[s] ... by doing" and is "the essence of Americanness".

In your fourth blog post, write a reflection that does the following:

• Compares and contrasts Paul Graham's vision of a hacker with the description provided by Steven Levy in Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution. How are the two portraits similar? How are they different? Are these differences significant?

• Discusses what resonates with you in Paul Graham's essays regarding hackers by describing which analogies and arguments you found compelling or interesting.

• Discusses which passages you found particularly disagreeable by explaining why you think Paul Graham is misguided or wrong.

• Reflects on your personal reaction to Paul Graham's modern version of the hacker: Do you identify with the type of person Paul Graham describes or do you find it uninteresting or perhaps offputting? Explain.