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Hello World, I'm Tomasino.

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This is SolarPunk Prompts,

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a series for writers where we discuss SolarPunk,

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a movement that imagines a world where technology is used

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for the good of the planet.

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In this series,

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we spend each episode exploring this single SolarPunk story

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prompt.

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Adding some commentary, some inspirations,

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and some considerations.

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Most importantly,

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we consider how that story might help us to better envision

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a sustainable civilization.

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If this is your first time here,

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I'd recommend checking out our introduction episode first,

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where we talk about what SolarPunk is, why you should care,

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and why this series came into being.

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Let's take a look at today's prompt.

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A hackerspace sits within a city,

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still clinging to their own ways while the rest of the

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world changes.

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Activists, technologists, inventors, and educators,

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trying to show the communities around them that it's

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possible to live differently,

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while actively squabbling over who's plan is the best.

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To really understand this prompt,

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we need to unpack a few terms and ideas first.

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The first is the term hacker,

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which comes with a bit of controversy.

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The term originates from MIT in the 1950s and 60s.

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Historically, a hacker,

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someone who is part of hacker culture,

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can be best thought of as a creative problem solver and

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tinkerer.

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Specifically, the act of engaging in activities,

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such as programming or working in other media,

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with the spirit of playfulness and exploration,

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is termed hacking.

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The term was, and continues to be,

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misused to describe people who break into communication.

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computers or networks,

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whether ethically to work in security or for personal gain

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in criminal activity.

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Computer specialists are still trying to reclaim the term

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and differentiate between true hackers and what they would

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call crackers, security hackers, or simply cyber criminals.

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In this episode, and indeed in this entire podcast,

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if I ever refer to hackers, hacking or hackerspaces,

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I am most emphatically meaning the community of people who

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live an ethos of information sharing, cooperation,

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and clever, playful discovery.

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In his 1984 book, Hackers,

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Heroes of the Computer Revolution,

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Stephen Levy traces the roots and development of hacker

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culture across three decades of its inception.

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He begins his book with a list of principles of the

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culture.

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Sharing.

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Openness.

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decentralization, free access to computers, information,

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etc.

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and world improvement.

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In our prompt, we're told to envision a hacker space.

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These are the playgrounds of the playful tinkerer.

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Hacker spaces are community -operated physical places where

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hackers come together to work on projects and socialize.

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And since hackers have such a diverse set of interests,

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those projects can vary tremendously.

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If you were to walk into a hacker space,

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it would be common to find a well -lit space with many

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workstations, desks, and a plethora of machinery.

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The walls would be a hodgepodge of shelving, pegboard,

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mounts, lighting, whiteboards, and art.

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And computers.

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Many many computers.

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The shelves would be covered in books, electronics,

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components, but also with duct tape, hand tools, drills,

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and textiles.

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Their place is filled with well -organized messes.

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Everything in its place,

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but also filled to the brim with everything.

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You may encounter someone building a community mesh

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network, or somebody building LEDs into textiles.

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Some hackers work exclusively in software,

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and others never touch a computer at all.

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The spirit of tinkering and playful exploration infuses it

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all.

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Let's look at some real -life examples for context.

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Noisebridge, a hacker space in San Francisco,

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teaches circuitry hacking on Mondays.

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A writer's workshop on Tuesdays,

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video game development on Wednesdays and Thursdays,

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and host a sewing night every Friday.

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In addition to those, and many other regular events,

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they also undertake larger efforts in groups,

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like monitoring the status of trees around the city,

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or the construction of their massive wall made from LED lit

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bottles.

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which they use to display animated artwork.

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Games, fabrication, music events, hacker spaces do it all.

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Omnicommons in Oakland is home to nine collectives working

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together in a massive shared space.

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They offer open education programs to the public,

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urban farming, DIY biology labs, film, video,

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and I have a collective focused on providing free food.

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Yet there's so much more they do,

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we could spend the rest of this episode covering just their

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community.

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I'll share some links to these and other hacker spaces like

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Hack Lab so you can explore their wikis and see what they

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do, and also a virtual tour to get a look inside.

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All right, with that vision in mind,

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we're now returning to the prompt.

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I've just spent the last several minutes painting you a

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picture of these amazing places of discovery,

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yet the prompt.

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talks about the community squabbling over which plan is

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best, and to be honest,

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it's not unusual activity for a hacker space either.

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This is a convergence of highly motivated people who excel

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at and enjoy breaking things down to see how they work.

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They spend their free time putting things together in

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interesting ways.

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Opinions are really not hard to find.

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As writers,

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what's difficult is to place ourselves mentally and

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emotionally into each of these characters and fully embody

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their passions.

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These are not like the path seekers from our previous prom.

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They aren't looking for their calling.

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They've found it.

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What will create conflict between them isn't the goal,

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but the means.

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One difficulty will be in capturing the different flavors

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of these shared values to keep your characters unique and

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avoid painting them all with the same brush.

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It may be helpful to revisit a list of character archetypes

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first.

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Then without a mind,

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you can turn and aim them back toward their shared problem,

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let their values and hacker ethics pull them together,

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and exploit their core differences for the squabbling

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drama.

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Another option is to consider a community like Omnicommons,

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which houses several different collectives.

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Each will have their own focus and want to push that method

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forward.

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The biggest difference in this setting versus a singular

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system, like in the library we've discussed before,

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is that these people, activists, technologists, inventors,

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and educators, are already part of different communities.

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They'll be here to meet an interface,

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but they'll be focused on which is the best way to go

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forward.

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These interactions within the groups and between the groups

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will bring new angles for social situations.

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It's not just individuals who are bickering, but clubs,

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workshops, educational institutions, and maybe even...

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even outside groups.

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Of all the prompts we've discussed so far,

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this one is probably the easiest to use in a present -day

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setting.

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The recipe for everything is already here.

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The world is moving on,

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and this community wants to show everyone that it's

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possible to live differently while they still struggle

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internally, not with deception or intrigue,

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but with the politics of a group who all wants what's best

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and simply can't agree on where to start.

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They know that there are movement making a world where

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technology is used for the good of the planet.

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Surely others will see that too, right?

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If only they can decide how.

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I'll caution you here to remember our SolarPunk guidelines.

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The community as protagonist means that whichever way your

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story goes and whatever the community decides to do,

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it's the process that matters.

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The defining characteristic of a hacker is not the

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activities performed themselves,

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but how it's done and whether it's exciting and meaningful.

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When we say infrastructure is sexy,

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but there are no simple solutions,

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this is the essence of what we mean.

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That solar -powered,

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vertical farming robot harvester didn't just show up one

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day.

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There was sweat and tears.

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But perseverance and shared values make for a resilient

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culture.

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And finally,

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don't lose sight that this is all about the human

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environmental context.

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This hackerspace is there to save the world by showing

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everyone else how to live in balance with it and how

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technology can help.

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Now if I've done my job right,

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you're probably sitting there thinking about how cool

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hackerspaces sound and wondering whether there's one near

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you.

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I'd start by checking out hackerspaces .org.

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They keep a very up -to -date list of locations all around

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the globe.

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Once you find something nearby,

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check out their website to find out if they're into the

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same things you are.

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And then join them for an open meeting.

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Most hackerspaces have a regular meeting that's open to the

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public where you can meet other hackers and try things out,

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see if you're interested.

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And if you're ever in Iceland,

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come check out ours in Reykjavik.

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Alright, thanks for joining me.

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I'll talk to you next time on the next SolarPunk prompt.

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Music in this recording is Astro Botany by Your Discovery

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from Global Patterns Compilation,

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SolarPunk of Brighter Perspective.

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Music in this recording is Astro Botany by Your Discovery

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from Global Patterns Compilation,