HN Explorer

How do we stop America from being afraid of hackers?

12 points by wavesounds ↗ HN
Why is America so willing to use the technology hackers build but so fearful of its creators?

How do we stop the persecution of this generations greatest inventors when those inventors try to pursue a utopia through technology?

11 comments

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[dead] jayhova
am serious looking for hacker
J_Darnley
By educating the masses. If they had half a brain to be able to recognise scams, phishing and security issues would they be nearly as frightened and would the problem of "cyber crime" be nearly as bad?
dlitz
It might help if we stopped pretending that technology and programming are scary and too difficult for most people to even begin to grasp.
unimpressive
This. So much of this.

If people stopped thinking of most bottom tier blackhats as wizards and more as thieves who've figured out how to copy a banking sites web page, the world would be a better place.

stevewilhelm
History shows change has always been met with fear and persecution. It's human nature.

Anyone trying to make profound change must be willing to endure the consequences.

Nelson Mandela spent almost thirty years in prison before he dismantled Apartheid in South Africa.

token78
When legacy media has become too voiceless to matter.
mikeleeorg
One step is to change the negative associations with the word, "hacker." I once co-organized a hackathon for teachers and we debated long and hard about using the word "hack" in the title or tagline. In the end, we decided not to use the word because too many teachers thought "hacking" was about breaking into computer systems, like the movie.

(I made sure to use the term in the description though, because I believe we really need to change the connotations of that term for the general public.)

Later, some high school students who attended our hackathon decided to organize a similar event at their high school. They used the term "hack" in the title because that was how they could best attract other students. This was against the desires of their teachers, most of whom argued against using that term. Their event was a success and hopefully they've changed the way their high school views the word "hack."

Or, maybe there just needs to be a character on "The Big Bang Theory" who is a hacker. Hollywood has a funny way of changing perceptions sometimes.

phaus
I'm an Information Security Professional by trade, but I love to learn about CS and programming in my free time.

If there is one thing in this life that I am certain of, its that programmers are NEVER going to take back the term "hacker."

We as programmers find ourselves in the unfortunate situation of being right about something that the entire world doesn't give a shit about. As long as mainstream media keeps making money off of selling fear and hysteria, you will not make even the slightest amount of progress.

I sincerely hope that you will prove me wrong.

codeonfire
It's just not going to happen. People are not going to one day wake up and be thankful to the person who built their car or computer or web service. At some level, barring any deep introspection, they are biological machines that only know that a car or a computer gives them power. Whoever made that car or computer has an advantage over them. That's all that matters.
junto
Low risk. Sheep obey, sheep buy, sheep don't think, sheep don't ask questions. Governments like sheep. Thinkers are dangerous.

My favorite Designers Republic poster sums this up rather nicely: http://i.imgur.com/W1Egh.jpg

mapster
Is this an issue / problem?