It's hard to take the word "hacker" seriously, just as it's hard to take the word "painter" or "poet" seriously. If it's not being used as a word of abuse, it's often a sign of sentimentality or sloppy mythifying. Nevertheless, this is good in places.

"What hackers and painters have in common is that they're both makers. Along with composers, architects, and writers, what hackers and painters are trying to do is make good things. They're not doing research per se, though if in the course of trying to make good things they discover some new technique, so much the better."


http://www.paulgraham.com/hp.html