What is a hack?

What do you imagine when you think of a hacker? If you pictured a computer genius trying to get over the CIA’s firewalls to gain access to top secret documents, think again. Trying to breach a computer program or system is better referred to as cracking, as if trying to break defenses. A “hack”, however, has a much broader meaning: it’s any alternative solution to a problem, a creation, or repurposing of a system.

Let’s take the example of the greatest hacker of all times: MacGyver. This late 80’s TV action character is known to get out of any situation by putting together any materials he finds to make a smart device that eventually saves the world. They most likely involve duct tape, a Swiss Army knife, and a paper clip.

“To break the rules, one must first master the rules”

Nowadays, the term “hacking” is slowly starting to be associated with all things. Paul Buchheit characterized hacking as an applied philosophy, in the sense that it’s about learning the rules of a system – any system, from a toaster oven to the Government or the human body – in such a way that loopholes can be found, and how to break these rules can be understood. It’s pretty common in the Silicon Valley to hear startup founders talk about how they hacked an industry (eg: Spotify made accessible millions of songs to the world for $9.99/month by confronting music majors) or hacked their growth (eg: Dropbox is famous for gaining hundreds of thousands of users in a very short period of time thanks to referrals).

Hacking is about curiosity, trial and error, experimentation, and when you get lucky, true discovery. In the very essence of the word, “hack” suggests an amount of arbitrary luck mixed with knowledgeable inquiry. A hacker possesses a fearless desire to innovate and an obsession with learning more about what is around them. The proverb, “to break the rules, one must first master the rules” seems appropriate when speaking of hackers, for while there are certainly element of a risky maverick in a hacker’s personality, there is a great deal of knowledge, understanding, and teamwork as well.

The concept of hacking becomes extremely beautiful when it comes to building hardware. Our homes are all filled with electric and electronic devices: TVs, fridges, speakers, light bulbs… None of these exist in nature, but they exist because we mastered natural laws of physics and used them to our advantage. Today, we’re able to direct electrons in components the size of a grain of sand and use them to talk with someone on the other side of the planet. This is no magic but it’s still pretty impressive. What’s more, this kind of trick isn’t reserved to the elite anymore. With the spread of the internet and hardware prototyping tools like Arduino, anyone from kids to elderly can start hacking hardware in a matter of minutes. It’s this ability to leverage centuries of learning and discovery so we don’t need to “reinvent the wheel” that will help us advance faster as a civilization and build tomorrow’s technology today.

This is where Hackster.io comes in. We help hardware makers get from idea to working product fast. As the first and only true collaborative knowledge base for the hardware maker community, we make it easy to create, share, and refine your hardware projects, a.k.a. your hacks. From useful resources including prototyping tools and projects discovery, to the assistance of a tight-knit community of skilled makers, Hackster.io provides all of the information and support you’ll need to help bring your next idea to life.

Want to get involved in the maker community? Create a profile and share your hacks on Hackster.io!

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