Book Review: Hacking Capitalism - Modeling, Humans, Computers, and Money by Kris Nóva

I was saddened to hear of Kris Nóva's untimely death a few weeks ago. I had her book "Hacking Capitalism" on my eReader for several months, but hadn't got around to reading it yet. Never put these things off.

The book is a complicated but fitting legacy. It absolutely showcases Nóva's ideas, ideals, and potential. Perhaps a little overwrought in places, and a little underpowered in others. It's clear that her heart was in the right place and she was making a huge impact in the world. The staccato paragraphs and bullet point entries only underline how much she had to say and how quickly she wanted to say it.

There are a lot of pithy statements buried in the pages:

For every exciting innovation, a legacy system must rot.

And some sections ought to be tattoo'd on the inside of our eyelids:

Remember: The tech industry expects competition because the tech industry is built on capitalism. There’s legally nothing wrong with playing the same game that the corporations are playing.

The book attempts to map cybersecurity hacking onto work/life hacking. For example, can you use social engineering tricks to find job openings?

You can start to probe for weaknesses by looking for a response. In career exploitation, this can be a response to a tweet, a LinkedIn message, or an email.

It's a clever way of looking at the world. Indeed, Nóva has an interesting perspective on the tech scene as a trans-woman:

In my opinion, masculine socialization directly leads to the ruthlessly competitive personality types that are rewarded within tech. This opinion is based on my experience as both a man and woman working in the tech industry.

I'm not sure I buy all of the pronouncements she makes though. The book does overlook that some of us working in tech are doing so for Governments, charities, and non-profits. Sure, we're all inside capitalism, but our employers aren't necessarily solely driven by a profit motive.

It's certainly a hell of a lot better than most "thought leader" / "industry insider" nonsense. It's a good way to open your eyes to some of the ways the system is stacked against people - and how you can fight back.

Kris leaves behind a huge legacy. It would have been brilliant to see how much further she could have gone.

I'll leave the last word to her:

I want to buy as much land as possible and give it back to society and to the people. I want to wake up in the morning and — even if for a single day — I want to feel free.