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Appendix B A Portrait of J. Random Hacker |
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This profile reflects detailed comments on an earlier 'trial balloon' version from about a hundred Usenet respondents. Where comparatives are used, the implicit 'other' is a randomly selected segment of the non-hacker population of the same size as hackerdom. |
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An important point: Except in some relatively minor respects such as slang vocabulary, hackers don't get to be the way they are by imitating each other. Rather, it seems to be the case that the combination of personality traits that makes a hacker so conditions one's outlook on life that one tends to end up being like other hackers whether one wants to or not (much as bizarrely detailed similarities in behavior and preferences are found in genetic twins raised separately). |
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Intelligent. Scruffy. Intense. Abstracted. Surprisingly for a sedentary profession, more hackers run to skinny than fat; both extremes are more common than elsewhere. Tans are rare. |
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Casual, vaguely post-hippie; T-shirts, jeans, running shoes, Birkenstocks (or bare feet). Long hair, beards, and moustaches are common. High incidence of tie-dye and intellectual or humorous 'slogan' T-shirts (only rarely computer related; that would be too obvious). |
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A substantial minority prefers 'outdoorsy' clothinghiking boots ("in case a mountain should suddenly spring up in the machine room", as one famous parody put it), khakis, lumberjack or chamois shirts, and the like. |
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Very few actually fit the National Lampoon Nerd stereotype, though it lingers on at MIT and may have been more common before 1975. At least since the late Seventies backpacks have been more common than briefcases, and the hacker 'look' has been more whole-earth than whole-polyester. |
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Hackers dress for comfort, function, and minimal maintenance hassles rather than for appearance (some, perhaps unfortunately, take this to extremes and neglect personal hygiene). They have a very low tolerance of suits and other 'business' attire; in fact, it is not uncommon for hackers to quit a job rather than conform to a dress code. |
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