Hacker ethos and Cypherpunk philosophy have long valued decentralized authority, freedom of information and individual autonomy. When examining some of the central tenets of hacker philosophy and cypherpunk ethos we can explore intriguing parallels to the archetype of the Fool.
With its roots in early computer hobbyist groups & anarchic open source, Hacker subculture developed an anti-establishment worldview. Their collective endeavors aim to liberate data from centralised servers, while cypherpunks pushed for cryptographic systems to evade state surveillance. This iconoclastic figure frequently serves as a critic of norms, bursting pretensions and speaking risky truths. The fool's tendency to reveal hypocrisies and upend conventions mirrors hackers' impulse to expose secrets and security flaws.
"My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like." - Hacker Manifesto
The Hacker Manifesto or The Conscience of a Hacker text (1986) is considered a cornerstone of hacker culture and asserts a higher goal of hacking that goes beyond selfish desire to exploit or harm. It highlights that technology can be used to expand horizons and maintain freedom.
Practices like whistleblowing, social engineering hoaxes and dark web economies aim to dismantle centralized power in favor of individual liberty. The cypherpunk promotion of encryption provides linguistic puzzles to conceal messages and evade surveillance, much as the verbal fool speaks in riddles and coded wit. Both believe information should be freely shared, not hoarded or controlled by elite gatekeepers. Court Jesters were the wiki-leaks of their time - well known to reveal secrets & private affairs; difficult truths which burst pretensions and assumptions.
"You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, you cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals." - Hacker Manifesto
Cryptography represents another lineage between the Fool and Hacker. Cypherpunks advocate widespread use of strong encryption as a means of limiting state control. The development of cryptographic systems can be seen as a kind of verbal polysemy, using mathematical linguistics to encode messages and evade surveillance, while possibly concealing heretical ideas. The fool, who so often speaks in puns, verbal puzzles, and hidden meanings, would undoubtedly appreciate such cryptographic wordplay.
This painting “The Allegory of the Fool” (1466–1530) shows an esoteric depiction of a Fool. The cockrel that grows out of his head is a reference to the third eye & hints at developed wisdom. The wings suggest extrasensory abilities. He has a finger on his lips & beside is written “Mondeken toe” which means keep your trap shut in latin. These symbolic puzzles of artistic cryptography are significant when we look at cultural history.
Over his shoulder is a wooden stick that assists him in exploration, in this depiction with a fool atop. He balances on his shoulder a figurative word play; Fool in French is Mat, however Mat also translates as mast (of a ship). Whats the significance of mast?
You may have heard stories of Sirens of the Seas, who would sing to sailors & make them mad enough to jump overboard. Much like Odysseus in ancient greek mythology, a mad sailor would be bound to the mast of the ship so he may hear the sirens without jumping into the sea. This allegory depicts a fool holding the mast which he binds himself to, so he may listen to worldly Sirens without loosing course or throwing himself overboard. These point toward the idea that this “fool” is infact a wise initiate who keeps wisdom hidden to those that do not already see, which is reminiscent of culture in cypherpunk communities.
The Hacker and Fool frequently operate in grey areas where rules and regulations have not yet been clearly defined or implemented. By exposing vulnerabilities and security flaws, they reveal gaps and weaknesses in systems before malicious actors potentially exploit them. Their activities tread on the boundaries of what is legally or ethically acceptable, often overriding existing constraints and safeguards. While this willingness to defy norms earns them a rebellious reputation, the hacker is playing a vital role in strengthening the resiliency of our digital systems against future threats.
Rule-bending probes stress test the limits of technologies & institutions and provide vital feedback on where oversight and security controls need improvement. Though their methods may appear foolish or dangerous from the outside, the hacker's position between the lines - neither clearly legal or illegal - is critical for more robust and failure-tolerant systems to emerge.
The hoaxing practice of "social engineering" also contains echoes of trickster folklore. By perpetrating scams, hacks, and cons on individuals and institutions, hackers highlight gaps in security, human gullibility, and the fallibility of authority. While controversial and often unethical, these deceptions recall the fool's penchant for exposing hypocrisy and testing the pretensions of power through performance.
"I understand it. 'No, Mrs. Smith, I didn't show my work. I did it in my head...' Damn kid. Probably copied it. They're all alike." - Hacker Manifesto
The hacker's distinctive position as an iconoclast and outsider is key to building resilient digital ecosystems. By decentralizing information and exposing inconvenient truths, hackers provide a counterforce against centralized power and groupthink. Their willingness to dissent, take risks, and appear foolish keeps institutional orthodoxy and technological systems flexible enough to endure crises. Hackers imagine scenarios others may not, revealing vulnerabilities before malicious actors exploit them.
While hackers are often dismissed as reckless or marginalized as criminals, their unique philosophy and skills are too valuable to ignore. Rather than merely vilifying hackers, institutions should recognize their critical role as catalysts of change who stress test the limits of our digital world. Harnessing hackers' unconventional thinking makes systems antifragile & resistant to capture by elites and tolerant of unpredictable shocks. The hacker's outsider sensibility inoculates against totalitarianism and stagnation, bringing the foolish insights necessary for sociotechnical resiliency.
The Fool and Hacker represent the power of satire, irreverence, and subversion in bringing rigid structures of control into question. They’re both united in the curiosity to liberate information, decentralise power & reveal inconvenient truths. They play vital social roles in keeping orthodoxy flexible and humankind's complex systems from calcifying into totalitarianism. With a healthy disregard for norms and willingness to appear ridiculous, fool and hacker alike keep the powers that be on their toes.
The foolish hacker plays a vital role in preventing totalitarianism and keeping our complex systems open and free.
Fin.
http://phrack.org/issues/7/3.html
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume One, Issue 7, Phile 3 of 10
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The following was written shortly after my arrest...
\/\The Conscience of a Hacker/\/
by
+++The Mentor+++
Written on January 8, 1986
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Another one got caught today, it's all over the papers. "Teenager Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal", "Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering"...
Damn kids. They're all alike.
But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950's technobrain, ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker? Did you ever wonder what made him tick, what forces shaped him, what may have molded him?
I am a hacker, enter my world...
Mine is a world that begins with school... I'm smarter than most of the other kids, this crap they teach us bores me...
Damn underachiever. They're all alike.
I'm in junior high or high school. I've listened to teachers explain for the fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction. I understand it. "No, Ms. Smith, I didn't show my work. I did it in my head..."
Damn kid. Probably copied it. They're all alike.
I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second, this is cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, it's because I screwed it up. Not because it doesn't like me...
Or feels threatened by me...
Or thinks I'm a smart ass...
Or doesn't like teaching and shouldn't be here...
Damn kid. All he does is play games. They're all alike.
And then it happened... a door opened to a world... rushing through the phone line like heroin through an addict's veins, an electronic pulse is sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought... a board is found.
"This is it... this is where I belong..."
I know everyone here... even if I've never met them, never talked to them, may never hear from them again... I know you all...
Damn kid. Tying up the phone line again. They're all alike...
You bet your ass we're all alike... we've been spoon-fed baby food at school when we hungered for steak... the bits of meat that you did let slip through were pre-chewed and tasteless. We've been dominated by sadists, or ignored by the apathetic. The few that had something to teach found us willing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.
This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons, and you call us criminals. We explore... and you call us criminals. We seek after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us criminals. You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals.
Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for.
I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike.
+++The Mentor+++