Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age

By Paul Graham

Categories: Business & Money, Science & Math

In this 2004 collection of essays, programmer and Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham explores the world of hackers and the ideas behind the computer age. Graham argues that hacking has more in common with painting than with engineering. He writes about why nerds are unpopular, how wealth is created and why programming languages such as Lisp matter, and he makes a case for free speech and heresy. The book draws on his experience founding Viaweb, an early web software company.

Recommended by 4 people

• Keith Rabois: “I am often asked by entrepreneurs for my list of the best books to read... now collate them in one place.”
• Ryan Holiday
• Shane Parrish: “All of the essays in Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age are worth reading and thinking about.”
• Brian Armstrong: “Paul Graham’s writing: Probably the greatest number of insights per paragraph on this list, and a master of metaphors... See Hackers and Painters for a printed version of some of his essays.”