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Comment by delinka | Hacker News Reader

I have yet to observe human hackers utilizing boxes in any manner similar to cats and therefore am uncertain as to the relevance of this quote. This is not intended as criticsm as much as an invitation to elucidate on the cat's hacker nature with regard to corrugated containers.

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When we had a huge stash of cardboard after getting some whiteboards delivered, we ended up building something not unlike the jwz 'Tent of Doom'[1] around a few desks. It was surprisingly relaxing and productivity-enhancing for the few hours it survived before it was deemed 'unprofessional'.

I'm not sure it would work out well full-time, but in my experience, cats also leave their boxes from time to time, so there's precedent.

..I'd still rather have a private office than a cubicle (cardboard or no) though.

[1] http://www.jwz.org/tent-of-doom/

Hackers think of themselves as dangerous. They have powerful skills that can they can use to intimidate and take advantage of others. But hackers are also extremely vulnerable. As children, they were always the outcast, the one that got their glasses stolen and tossed around on the playground. Deprived of valuable peer interaction, they develop into reclusive adults who can easily be taken advantage of by one with an understanding of their psychology.

Hackers prefer warmer temperatures than other people. This is why they eat Cheetos to grow an insulating layer of fat, and why they spend so much time in a sealed room full of octo-core CPUs and graphics cards.

By extrapolation, I predict that hackers are also ambush predators.

> Hackers think of themselves as dangerous.

The other day a work colleague of mine described me as "so meek and mild", and I couldn't agree more.

Until you take out your claws. Then who is meek and mild? I assure you, you are a danger to humanity!

Google "Temple Grandin" and "hug machine". Maybe cats are autistic, and boxes that fit are their equivalent of the hug machine. :)

Our boxes are made of Sheetrock, wood, glass, or cubicle walls ;)

And Internet.

Touché. I, like many of us here, am a fan of cats. It's hackernews. I like the quote. Bit of rough dot joining, there you go.

Source, if you want it: http://catb.org/jargon/html/miscellaneous.html

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