Master Foo and the Script Kiddie (2003)
soda.privatevoid.net
soda.privatevoid.net
http://catb.org/~esr/writings/unix-koans/two_paths.html
Can’t figure out the point
The last abstract-sounding bit, "When the eagle flies, does it forget that its feet have touched the ground? When the tiger lands upon its prey, does it forget its moment in the air?", I take as meaning:
"The air is beautiful and pure, free of pragmatic reality and time constraints and so on. The ground is the pragmatic reality. You must keep both in mind, and write beautiful code at times, and also sometimes write awful code to deal with reality at times".
Interesting, that's not my intuition....
https://everything2.com/title/The+Lord%2527s+Prayer%253A+l33...
> “These enlightened ones,” he protested, “gave us the Great Way of Unix. Surely, if we mock them we will lose merit and be reborn as beasts or MCSEs.”
I love how enduring is Microsoft's reputation in some circles.
Sort of like the people today who take a 2-week JavaScript course and then get hired for 6 figures, but at least the people with the certs had to take some exams.
“I have heard of your reputation,” the student said, bowing low. “They say you teach the Way of Unix, not for power, but for understanding. May I learn at your feet?”
Master Foo nodded. “What is it you seek?”
“I wish to master the system,” the student said, “to understand every process, every socket, every thread of the great Net. I seek elegance, not exploits.”
“You speak wisely,” said Master Foo. Then he scribbled an IP address on a small bamboo slip. “Crack this machine. Its defenses are trivial. Return and tell me what you learn.”
The student departed.
The next morning, he returned, his robes slightly rumpled but his eyes alight with triumph.
“Master,” he said, “the machine was a decoy for an abandoned cryptocurrency exchange node. I rewrote a dormant smart contract and siphoned off forgotten tokens. The wallet had a bug, my code fixed it. I now possess wealth beyond imagining.”
“You have reported this to the rightful owners?” asked Master Foo.
“There are none,” said the student. “The domain expired, the company dissolved, and the blockchain is immutable. I wrote no logs, touched no traceable endpoints, and masked every call behind a thousand proxies. I am free and unseen.”
“Then you are a thief,” said Master Foo.
“I am not caught,” replied the student. “What I took, no one missed. What I altered, no one saw. And what I gained, no one can take from me.”
Master Foo was silent for a time.
At last, he said, “The first student broke the law and found caution. You have broken nothing and found profit.”
He bowed low to the student.
“Here,” said Master Foo, “is the end of my teaching. Today, you have taught me.”
On hearing this, the student was puzzled.
But Master Foo was enlightened.
And another one for Jenny and the wimp.
One evening, as Master Foo swept the temple steps, a student came to him with furrowed brow.
“Master,” she said. “I do not understand the story of the two who cracked the machine.”
Master Foo did not look up.
“They did the same thing,” she said. “One was punished and changed. The other walked free and grew proud. Yet you praised neither. You said you were enlightened. Why?”
Master Foo set the broom aside.
“The first was reckless,” he said. “He broke in and was caught. Pain brought him humility. That was the beginning of wisdom.”
“And the second?” she asked.
“He was careful,” said Master Foo. “He did the same. But he was not caught. He gained wealth. He gained pride. He believed he had mastered the Way.”
He looked toward the fading light.
“I gave him a cleaner path. No watchers. No traps. I thought if he still chose restraint, it would reveal his heart.”
He paused.
“I was wrong.”
The student stood silently.
“They chose the same,” said Master Foo. “But the world answered differently. One was struck by pain. The other soothed by silence. Each believed he understood. Neither truly did.”
She bowed her head.
“The machine was a mirror,” she said. “But the lesson was not for them.”
Master Foo nodded.
“No,” he said. “They saw their reflections, and mistook them for truth.”
“And the difference between their tests?” she asked. “Why one path was watched, and the other open?”
“It seemed important once,” said Master Foo. “But now I see, it does not matter.”
“Because neither of them was real,” she said quietly.
Master Foo looked at her.
“Not the first. Not the second.”
He paused.
“Not even the one who stands before me now.”
She raised her eyes.
“Then who was the lesson for?”
Master Foo smiled.
“For the one who is still watching. Still wondering. Still here.”
He picked up the broom and swept the dust from the stone.
You do not speak. You do not need to.
You were enlightened.
http://thecodelesscode.com/names/Elephant%27s+Footprint+Clan
> Specialists in the persistence tier, where the Temple’s most precious resource is managed—by which I mean data, not alcohol, although they have a fair amount of that as well to cope with the stress of Temple life. Despite this, the clan has strict rules regarding inebriation. A monk is absolutely not allowed to code while drinking unless he really, really wants to. Any monk caught violating this rule is punished by having to buy the next round.
> The clan takes its name from the immense ivory-panelled server cabinet which houses the Temple’s most venerable DBMS hosts. This cabinet is known affectionately as the Great White Elephant, no doubt for its flawless memory. However it is worth noting that elephants do sometimes forget, which is why the Temple has hot replication to a colocation site which houses the Emergency Backup Elephant.
And about the tools that enable ScriptKiddies or their modern equivalents to achieve some fast results, for which they have to pay later.
It's about a fictional archetype, and the story isn't meant to be taken literally, it's illustrative for the sake of a lesson.
But I assume you mean the moral of the story is to never break into computers?
I think you are wrong about that. I see the moral as, don't break into computers for the lulz. Especiall not, if you don't know what you are doing. The master clearly can break into systems. But doesn't do it. He feels no need to take stupid risks to proof his skills.
The story isn't about breaking into computers; it's drawing an analogy, of a careless action and an undesired consequence. My problem with it is that it's an undesired consequence of the variety dreamt of by Unix systems administrators of the time (we're gonna catch those rascally hackers and they're gonna get it!) and seen in the real world ~never. That doesn't make the moral of the story wrong (be careful), just cringe.
This is as much a defence mechanism as it is a calling card.