Well, what "is" considered a hacker will vary from person to person, and getting caught up in arguments about identity / group politics detracts from doing/learning cool stuff.
I think it would be fair to say that I am not a hacker, although my oldest son aspires to be a hacker. So some of my bias in what I find interesting to post here is
a) what is good groundwork-laying information for a YOUNG hacker?
or
b) what contributes to a broad, complete education for hackers of any age?
Also, libraries in general, including university libraries. Some books on homeschooling (such as Grace Llewellyn's _Teenage Liberation Handbook_) are full of pointers for self-study.
Yes, Macaulay's _The Way Things Work_ is a wonderful book. He's a little bit older than I think you may have guessed he is. His younger siblings like that book too.
Libraries in general are where I spend much of my life. I definitely like to bring all my children to libraries at every opportunity. Thanks for mentioning The Teenage Liberation Handbook in your reply. Some older hackers may find that very interesting as a way to hack getting an education.
Thanks. Right-clicked for context menu in Firefox to open new tabs with each link. I see "21-days.html" from the Peter Norvig site is the "Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years" article that I was rereading just yesterday. (I've referred my son to it before, and heartily agree it's good for young people who like programming to read.)
Hackety Hack is new to me. Your comment is an example of a good comment with links to further information.
Ever read The Diamond Age? You should. It's not only a fantastic novel on its own merits, and a great spec fic, but it's got a lot of pure human truth to it -- specifically regarding what goes into helping a child grow into a great hacker.
