nice link to alchemy!
i got a lot out of reading 'abstract hacktivism' by von busch and
palmas. it brings out the artisanal pattern, with the added (vital)
element of subversion / acting without permission.
http://www.isk-gbg.org/abstracthacktivism/
they also have a nice angle ontologically (trying to get beyond the
post-structuralist limitation of hacktivism to culture jamming, and
thereby connecting to the 'maker' movement).
i think the connection between hacking / open source and radical
political transformation has yet to unfold, and is better
followed via
the term hacktivism.
right now, there's a fascinating interplay between offline social
movements and hacking (c.f. the arab spring, and now the financial
'crisis). the deterritorial support group make some interesting point
about this in 'Twenty reasons why it’s kicking off in cyberspace'
http://deterritorialsupportgroup.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/twenty-
reasons-why-its-kicking-off-in-cyberspace/
cheers
dan
On 18 June 2011 00:07, Marchese, Prof. Francis T.
<fmarchese pace.edu> wrote:
Perhaps it would be better to label the topic as "Artisanal"
invention or development. It would then remove the negative
connotation that the term hacker engenders. It would also play
into the concept that such developments come from non-corporate
or non-industrial settings, where individuals (outsiders?) or
loosely structured groups exploit contemporary technologies to
create new and (perhaps) useful applications. For example, the
Apple iPod/iPad SDK makes it easy for non-computer scientists to
create apps. And web technologies can be easily enabled to
create rich Internet experiences by non-technologists. Such a
label links into the history of invention - Edison, Hewlett-
Packard, Wozniak-Jobs, the latter two pairs worked in garages.
Perhaps we should not forget ancient alchemists, who developed
"algorithms" for creating new substances by "hacking" matter.
Finally, such a label links into a vast literature (e.g. Mary
Shelley's Frankestein) and the SciFi genre where lone (evi
l?) scientists develop remarkable technologies. From this
perspective, it might not only be easier to look at the good,
bad, and ugly of "hacking" but also map out its meaning.
Dr. Francis T. Marchese
Professor
Dept. of Computer Science
Pace University
163 William Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10038
http://csis.pace.edu/~marchese<http://csis.pace.edu/%7Emarchese>
email: fmarchese pace.edu<fmarchese pace.edu>
phone: 212 346-1803