The original hackers found splendor and elegance in the conventionally dry sciences of m ath and electronics. They saw program m ing as a form of artistic expression and the com puter as an instrum ent of that art. Their desire to dissect and understand wasn't intended to dem ystify artistic endeavors; it was sim ply a way to achieve a greater appreciation of them . These knowledge-driven values would eventually be called the Hacker Ethic: the appreciation of logic as an art form and the prom otion of the free flow of inform ation, surm ounting conventiona