My collection of fun and interesting hacking/coding movies and literature | Hacker News Reader

My collection of fun and interesting hacking/coding movies and literature

markozivanovic.com

I was interviewing for a job recently, and I got asked what got me into coding. It’s not the first time I got asked that same question, and it’s one of my favorites. I love to see the person’s reaction who asks me the question when I tell them the answer.

For me there wasn't one single "thing" that got me interested in coding, but there's no doubt that the book The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder played a key role.

It’s the movie Hackers from 1995! I’m not joking. That’s the movie that made me fall in love with computers, coding, and hacking. Many people consider it cheesy, but I don’t care. I watched it probably twenty times, if not more. I watch it any time I find myself feeling down and unmotivated. It reminds me of those first days, that initial spark. Just like you would reminisce about a beautiful beginning of a past love affair when you feel lonely and unloved.

Yes, "Hackers" is cheesy as hell, but it's simultaneously a great movie in a certain sense. Like the author of TFA, I consider it one of my "comfort movies". I've probably watched it 20+ times, and can always default to watching that when I'm feeling down, strung-out, overwhelmed, etc. Doing so always puts me in a better mood. A few other movies that fall into the same category for me include "Antitrust", "The Matrix", "The Social Network", "War Games", "Tron: Legacy", "Rad", and maybe one or two others.

HACK THE PLANET!

"What did we learn in school today?"

"Revenge"

TRASHING! TRASHING!

Very pleased to see that Sneakers, one of my favourites, is on this list.

It has a ridiculously talented cast, an amusing script, and a terrifically well constructed caper plot.

The McGuffin is (if you'll allow for the demands of a visual medium) not too badly conceived.

Here's reminiscences from Len Adleman who consulted on the math discourse in the film: https://molecularscience.usc.edu/sneakers/

And here's some minor reminiscences from the professionally nerdy actor Steven Tobolowsky (Werne Brandes ... my voice is my passport...): https://slate.com/culture/2012/09/robert-redford-sidney-poit...

Addendum, as I see the author of the link was the poster: I see I largely share your taste (at least on this subject). Have you read Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder? I didn't see it on your list and I think it's terrific - one of those ones that makes me nostalgic for a time I didn't actually experience!

Funny, someone just reached out to me on Twitter and recommended that same book! I guess I know what I'll be doing over this weekend. :)

To fellow lovers of that film: allow me to introduce you to No More Secrets, an implementation of the decryption effect shown in the film.

https://github.com/bartobri/no-more-secrets

I’m truly delighted to see Antitrust (2001) made it onto the list.

I was very much ‘into’ computer security around the turn of the century, when this film was released, and it totally amazed me with the fact it had no strange FUI “future interfaces” or unrecognisable technology. It was all grounded on the technology stacks I recognised from the time. There was Linux and Gnome and various key-presses and other technical aspects made sense.

There was a believable tech company. There were believable tech company employees.

A real gem of a film, not in terms of narrative or acting, but in terms of plausible accuracy.

Would it be too risky to mention Bill Gates' "The Path to the Future" at a hacker community? Bill Gates mainly discussed about the social impact of techniques including multimedia and Internet. I re-read the book yesterday and still find interesting insights.

At the same time, I enjoy reading "The Art of Unix programming" and "Just for fun". Both books reveal that why some open source code can live more than tens of years, because they are created by enthusiasm and fun.

I wouldn't say it's risky. Never mind what people think about Bill, and what he's into currently, but I definitely consider him a hacker!

Having said that, I didn't read the book. Thanks for the recommendation!

Glad to see Revolution OS in the list! Helped me get through times in grad school when I'd get stuck on something working on my thesis. Grab a bowl of ramen and put this movie on!

Stealing the network series is worth reading once for sure :)

Consider reading Exploding the Phone by Phil Lapsley

http://explodingthephone.com/

Sneakers is a great movie. Social engineering vs outright hacking. A lot of what it's about is still relevant today.

You must start with Steven Levy's Hackers. Some days, 75% of the front page of HN are footnotes to Hackers.

Not a hacking movie, but for a good comedy TV show about IT, I would recommend The IT Crowd: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_IT_Crowd

Pump up the volume

Mr Robot?

Moneyball (2011), on the algorithm design side

Glad to see Masters of Doom in the literature section. That's what really sealed it for me.

I think these should be included, the first got me into computer. Dr Who, The Lawnmower Man, Tron.

The Imitation Game

As an origin story for our computer-driven era, it’s pretty desultory. I say this as somebody with Turing’s Theta Combinator tattooed onto my left arm… so that qualifies the statement somewhat, I suppose.

The Soul of a New Machine - Tracy Kidder

pirates 1999 is great, tnt original movies at their finest

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