Article about DegreeForum journey

[dfrecore]

I have to say I'm not wild about saying we're "hacking" degrees. Makes it sound like we're cheating and not actually earning them.

I thought hacking meant coming up with a better/faster way to do things.  I mean, there are bad hackers, but there are also ethical or red hat hackers.

The term hacker has historically been a divisive one, sometimes being used as a term of admiration for individuals who exhibit a high degree of skill and creativity in their approach to technical problems. However, the term is also commonly applied to individuals who use this skill for illegal or unethical purposes.

Hacker was first used in the 1960s to describe a programmer or an individual who, in an era of highly constrained computer capabilities, could increase the efficiency of computer code in a way that removed, or hacked, excess machine code instructions from a program. It has evolved over the years to refer to someone with an advanced understanding of computers, networking, programming or hardware.

[LevelUP]

While the term "hacking" is often associated with negative activities like computer or network breaches, there are also many positive ways in which the term can be used. Here are a few examples:

1. Life hacking (outside of technology): While life hacking is often associated with technology, it can also refer to finding creative or unconventional ways to solve everyday problems, such as finding alternative uses for common household items.

2. Farm hacking: This refers to the use of innovative, low-cost technologies and techniques to improve agricultural practices and increase sustainability. For example, farmers might use drip irrigation systems, solar-powered fences, or open-source tools for data analysis to improve their yields.

3. Science hacking: This term refers to the use of creative or unconventional methods to conduct scientific research. Science hackers might use DIY instruments, open-source software, or crowdsourced data to conduct experiments or analyze data in new ways.

4. Urban hacking: This refers to the use of art, design, and other creative interventions to improve urban spaces and make them more livable. Urban hackers might create pop-up parks or gardens in vacant lots, install public art installations, or use data visualization to highlight social or environmental issues.

5. Social hacking: This term refers to the use of psychological or social engineering techniques to promote positive social change. Social hackers might use humor, empathy, or other persuasive strategies to encourage people to change their behavior, for example, by adopting more sustainable habits or becoming more politically engaged.