Hackers & painters
by Graham, Paul · first published 2004
44% recommend52% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Essay collection on what hacking really means, comparing programmers to painters as makers. Valued for its take on creating wealth, startups and empathy for users; it inspires young programmers and aspiring founders.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"The computer world is like an intellectual Wild West, in which you can shoot anyone you wish with your ideas, if you're willing to risk the consequences. " --from Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age , by Paul Graham We are living in the computer age, in a world increasingly designed and engineered by computer programmers and software designers, by people who call themselves hackers. Who are these people, what motivates them, and why should you care? Consider these facts: Everything around us is turning into computers. Your typewriter is gone, replaced by a computer. Your phone
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
I Invented the Modern Age
Richard Snow
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 22 recommend · 2 mention2 recommend · 22 recommend
2007–2023The Art of the Start
Guy Kawasaki
Recommended by 48 · mentioned by 7948 recommend · 79 mention48 recommend · 7948 recommend
2007–2026Founders at work
Jessica Livingston
Recommended by 246 · mentioned by 385246 recommend · 385 mention246 recommend · 385246 recommend
2007–2025ANSI Common Lisp
Paul Graham
Recommended by 67 · mentioned by 13167 recommend · 131 mention67 recommend · 13167 recommend
2013–2018Jony Ive
Leander Kahney
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 32 recommend · 3 mention2 recommend · 32 recommend
2017–2023Andrew Carnegie
David Nasaw
Recommended by 1 · mentioned by 31 recommend · 3 mention1 recommend · 31 recommend
Portrait of Dorian Gray
Robert Boettcher, Oscar Wilde
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 32 recommend · 3 mention2 recommend · 32 recommend
…understanding how technological breakthroughs happen Snowball (Warren Buffet), Andrew Carnegie and Rockefeller biographies - for understanding the mental mindset to win in business (it's not what you think) Hackers and painters - for understanding startups and how/why they work Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance - for understanding beauty in the routine Essentialism, the disciplined pursuit of less and Walden - for…
on “Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?” ↗I really miss pg. I have given away many copies of Hackers and Painters and have forwarded many more pdf copies of it (pirated, sorry, but for a good cause) due to exactly the same reason that Gideons place their book in hotel rooms or YW's give away their "literature": I…
on “Rarely-Asked Questions (2006)” ↗…more than enough and then taking too long to finish that and (ii) taking too long to get acquainted with the concept of creating wealth, a la http://paulgraham.com/wealth.html; I'd say that, had I read Hackers and Painters 15 years ago (it wasn't printed at that time or course), my life would have been different (or maybe not, it's easy to get caught with might have beens). That's why I buy a copy of this book to many young…
on “Redditors who are rich (net worth $1 million+) - how did you get rich?” ↗…4. Wikinomics, Wisdom of Crowds, The Tipping Point (Blink! was alright). I am looking forward to reading "The Long Tail" and "The starfish and the spider"...has anyone read them yet? 6. Why We Buy 7. Hackers and Painters 8. The E-Myth revisited 9. The Art of the Start 10. On War, The Art of War by Machiavelli and Sun Tzu (not exactly for startups, but definitely useful) 11. Crossing the Chasm
on “Startup founders, what books did you find most helpful?” ↗…YCombinator "Startup Library" page (http://ycombinator.com/lib.html)?: Dale Carnegie: How to Win Friends and Influence People Edward Tufte: The Visual Display of Quantitative Information Paul Graham: Hackers and Painters Jessica Livingston: Founders at Work
on “Ask HN : What are some great books an aspiring entrepreneur should read?” ↗Let me preface this by saying that when I was 19 and Hackers and Painters was just published, there was no book more subversive to the natural order of things. H&P changed my life so completely that less than a year after reading it I was standing in the YC office in Mountain…
on “Fundraising tips for first-time startup founders” ↗The New New Thing Founders at Work Hackers and Painters How To Get Rich Competitive Strategies The Intelligent Investor (or Security Analysis) Liar's Poker
on “Best Books For a Startup?” ↗…just go for it. The little extra motivation will help you in times of deep frustration where you just can't find the problem. Secondly, pick up some very general "programming" books like Paul Graham's Hackers and Painters. I also suggest reading CODE to get a fundamental understanding of how computers actually work. Once you understand those fundamentals, things will become easier.
on “Ask HN: How to step up my coding skills?” ↗…Bootcamp allowed Apple to sell into the PC space - without which they would not have been able to overshadow Microsoft. Just think back about 5 years. And why should they bother supporting Linux? Read Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham
on “Apple Says there are Only Two OS's - OS X and Windows 7” ↗Paul, I've read Hackers and Painters, and you can't imagine how HAPPY I am that you've been in Florence, and have been influenced by what you saw there. I love, love the fact that (at least in words) there is a care for beauty, for design.…
on “Applications open Winter 2014 Funding” ↗I would buy and look into the following books: # HTTP: The Definitive Guide - O'Reilly Media # Algorithms by Sedgewick # Introduction to Algorithms by Cormen. Check out some Machine Learning books: # Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning # Computer Networks (5th Edition) I would look at the following book if you wanted more Q&A and interview questions: # Cracking the Coding Interview: 1
on “Ask HN: I have $2k for books, training and confs. What should I spend it on?” ↗Paul Graham writes about this in his excellent book 'Hackers & Painters' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers_%26_Painters). There often is a big difference between doing what you love, and doing what must be done in society, like calculating mortgages for some stupid bank with corporate policies and everyone wearing the same boring blue-ish shirt. I do it to, have an excellent paycheck, which
on “Ask HN: Does anyone really love their job?” ↗1) Hackers and Painters, by Paul Graham—This book had a huge influence on me and is why I left a successful and growing low tech business in Asia to move to California and become a software engineer. 2) Zero to One, by Peter…
on “Ask HN: What three books impacted your career the most?” ↗You might enjoy Paul Graham's long essay, Hackers and Painters. http://paulgraham.com/hp.html
on “How to be an artist – Howard Hodgkin” ↗- The Pragmatic Programmer - The Practice of Programming - The Mythical Man Month - The Cathedral and the Bazaar - The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Introduction to Algorithms - Hackers and Painters Some of these do contain mixed language code examples, but they are expressed in a way to be agnostic. A problem is a problem; in any language.
on “Ask HN: What language-agnostic programming books should I read?” ↗