Why does that make him a real hacker?
Seems to me the wife left him when there was no prospect of recognition/profit and came crawling back when that proved to be false.
Seems to me the wife left him when there was no prospect of recognition/profit and came crawling back when that proved to be false.
Based on how the story is described, I can understand Shanthi's decision and the guys acceptance of her back.
I suppose it's hard as we always default to the western perspective.
Sounds like that whole time was hard for both of them and they were both mature enough to understand this and get past it.
If you replace the word Hacker with Tinker, the answer might become clear. He reverse engineered the "real thing" and came up with a cheaper solution that met his needs. Think Unix to Linux.
Also, his actions embodied the LEAN startup principles: Fail Fast, Fail Often.
* He asked for feedback immediately. "He fashioned a sanitary pad out of cotton and gave it to Shanthi, demanding immediate feedback."
* When he didn't get feedback fast enough, "I can't wait a month for each feedback, it'll take two decades!" He got 20 more volunteers. But it still didn't quite work out. On the day he came to collect their feedback sheets he caught three of the girls industriously filling them all in. These results obviously could not be relied on. It was then that he decided to test the products on himself.
* Test Driven Development - He created a "uterus" from a football bladder by punching a couple of holes in it, and filling it with goat's blood.
I still don't see the relation with his wife abandoning him and then wanting to get back together.
A 'tinker' is an historical term for a tinsmith, and now it's an offensive term in certain parts of the English speaking world.