[Air-L] CFP: Expanding the frontiers of hacking

[Marchese, Prof. Francis T.]

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 (evil?) 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 at pace.edu<mailto:fmarchese at pace.edu>
phone: 212 346-1803

Co-director
Pace Digital Gallery
http://www.pace.edu/DigitalGallery


Director
Pace Center for Advanced Media
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