“hacking” is the challenge of making something work in ways it was never intended - for example unlocking a car with wireless entry using a laptop and DIY electronics instead of the normal car key.

Doing it to your own car is obviously very different from stealing someone else’s, however it’s not illegal to “hack” your own car. The theft part is what gets you in trouble.

> it’s not illegal to “hack” your own car

I'm certain some car company will sue you if they get to know that you did.

Maybe it’s not really your car, then. (Same with some mobile phones, tractors, etc.)

Hacking, at it's very core, is the exploration and enjoyment of systems. Anything else beyond that raw definition is extra and varies.

Hacking seems to have taken on so many different meanings.

I've always known hacking as a term specifically related to bypassing security in digital systems. Think Matthew Broderick gaining access to government networks via a phone line. This was hacking that would always get you in trouble if caught.

I'm not quite sure when "hacking" was repurposed as a term for using something in a way it wasn't intended ("life hacks" or "kitchen hacks", etc).

Now hacking is about challenging social norms? I'm very lost at this point, in an "old man shakes fist at clouds" kind of way.

What you’re describing are sometimes consequences of the hacker ethic, they’re not core features.