For true hackers, the boundaries between “play”, “work”, “science” and “art” all tend to disappear, or to merge into a high-level creative playfulness
hackers build things, crackers break them
这里只谈软件上的黑客，其中 hackers 和 crackers 的区别
Hackers solve problems and build things, and they believe in freedom and voluntary mutual help
to be a hacker you have to get a basic thrill from solving problems, sharpening your skills, and exercising your intelligence
Otherwise you’ll find your hacking energy is sapped by distractions like sex, money, and social approval
if you tackle just a piece of it and learn from that, you’ll learn enough to solve the next piece — and so on, until you’re done
If you’re attracted to hacking because you don’t have a life, that’s OK too — at least you won’t have trouble concentrating. Maybe you’ll get a life later on.
If you lack the intelligence, there is little hope for you as a hacker; if you lack the discipline, you’d better grow it.
You can learn language features — bits of knowledge — from books, but the mind-set that makes that knowledge into living skill can be learned only by practice and apprenticeship.
What will do it is (a) reading code and (b) writing code.
How long will it take me to learn to hack?
That depends on how talented you are and how hard you work at it.