Coding and the Power of Nerds
By Becky Lang
If there’s one thing we’ve learned in the last decade, it’s that almost no one can stop computer nerds. No matter what restrictions are placed in their way, they code around them. In a sense, they’re like that .1% strain of bacteria that gets stronger and stronger the more antibacterial gel everyone slathers everywhere. But that’s not a bad thing. “The Social Network” showed us how this exact resiliency in a hacker named Mark Zuckerberg created one of the greatest services in history.
A strange juxtaposition of stories on Wired today got me thinking about the societal impact of these nerds. The first story called for the democratization of coding. Why not teach kids how to code in schools? Why not work harder to make coding easier for the masses? These efforts could lead to a revolution similar to Web 2.0, where easy-to-use interfaces made everyone a creator of content on the web. With this step, everyone could become creators of platforms, services and solutions, not just content. That’s an easy agenda to get behind.
That message gets a little bit funny when another story on the page showed just how intelligent and low-involvement WikiLeaks’ latest hacking efforts were. The article took a fairly neutral stance on whether or not these Anonymous vigilantes were in the right, but it couldn’t help but come off as slightly impressed by the power and influence coders have online. This isn’t the first time that the algorithmically-gifted have stuck it to the man. (Cough … torrents anyone?)
Part of the current reason that no government or law can keep these computer nerds from using the Internet their way is because the mechanics of the net – coding languages – are so inaccessible. The only people who can master them are people who are mathematically and linguistically gifted, leaving the general workings of the net fairly mystical to everyone else. Remember that scene in “The Social Network” where they write a math equation on the window and then – boom, they’ve got the code they need? Chances are, your local congressman can’t do that.
Maybe someday the call to action for democratizing code will become a reality. It’s more likely that code-writing will develop a user-friendly interface rather than become a language known by the general population. In that case, the ones who actually know the nitty gritty variables and symbols that make things go will always retain control.
Even if net neutrality fails, I am skeptical as to how the big wigs that own telecommunications companies can prevent nerds from being the number one proprietors of the greater web. They are the ultimate problem solvers, and they’re willing to do lots of illegal things, mostly because they also know how to not get caught. So when will we stop calling them nerds and start calling them punks?