A Hacker Manifesto, by McKenzie Wark was a very interesting read; the author lets the reader in into his mind to share his perspective on life and how “hacking” alters life for better or worse. Hacking is a term usually used to describe virtual invasion. Words such as internet, scam, and computer, come to mind when I hear “hack”, however Wark explains how ‘hacking’ can be so much more than the common definition by describing how we as people hack life! This is such an intriguing concept, I have never heard someone describe hacking in this manner or even make such a connection but after reading the article it definitely makes sense and I can clearly see how it applies to our everyday lives.
We as functioning humans hack life by absorbing, processing, and understanding as much information as we can. The older we get the better our hacking skills become. This is such a fantastic concept. Our goal is to hack life, to get the most out of from our time on this earth, to make that time count, by conquering the mysteries of the world. Wark goes into great detail to explain his idea and to convince the reader to relate to his point of view.
Another analogy Wark made that made me stop and think was that “education is slavery”. I couldn’t quite make reason with this claim because in my mind I have always seen and though of education as the opposite of slavery – freedom! Wark states that education “enchains the mind and makes it a resource for class power.” This is a very interesting claim that does make sense to an extent but makes me feel uneasy to view education as such. I understand his point of view after reading the explanation however I would have to disagree and insist that education equals freedom, knowledge enables us to make better decisions and opens up the world with new opportunities.
I do like the concept of hacking life however there is so much information out there, elements are constantly changing and shifting, that it is impossible to conquer life and hack all the mysteries. However there are things we can do to make our life easier and through the information we gather we gain knowledge to help us navigate life.