While I understand that a modern technologist can sometimes be a tinkerer and a maintainer of code, and that can lead to equivalences to the auto mechanic of the early days of auto, I think you hit quite well on the difference: autos aren't made in auto shops. They are engineered, and those engineers are quite a different creature than the auto mechanic.
Not all hackers are great software engineers, capable of planning and building a product that people will enjoy and pay for, just as not all mechanics and hobbyist engineers are capable of designing the next great automobile.
For hackers, the barriers to entry are lower, and the reach of our quickly-developed products is vast indeed. But there are still the human barriers, those of willingness to succeed, passion for work, and raw skill.
That hacking is becoming more widespread is not a bad thing for the field, or a harbinger for its twilight. It's part maturity, and it's mostly success.
Comments
While I understand that a modern technologist can sometimes be a tinkerer and a maintainer of code, and that can lead to equivalences to the auto mechanic of the early days of auto, I think you hit quite well on the difference: autos aren't made in auto shops. They are engineered, and those engineers are quite a different creature than the auto mechanic.
Not all hackers are great software engineers, capable of planning and building a product that people will enjoy and pay for, just as not all mechanics and hobbyist engineers are capable of designing the next great automobile.
For hackers, the barriers to entry are lower, and the reach of our quickly-developed products is vast indeed. But there are still the human barriers, those of willingness to succeed, passion for work, and raw skill.
That hacking is becoming more widespread is not a bad thing for the field, or a harbinger for its twilight. It's part maturity, and it's mostly success.