I was reading Marcin’s post today which included a mention about the boy who created a remote to change tram rail junctions, leading to a derailment. I also recently bought my first Rubik’s Cube ever, and then looked up the theory on solving it (no, I don’t have the time of mathematics interest/patience to truly learn it, but I wanted to know the approach and algorithms involved…no, I would never have figured it out myself, I think). I also read about remotes turning off televisions at CES, disrupting presentations.

What do these mean? I think there are still a lot of things that are very hackable. While the cyberverse keeps progressing at breakneck speed, much of the analog world is still using old technology that greatly relies on hidden knowledge. In the past, much like the Rubik’s Cube, I really wouldn’t have easy access to solve the puzzle. These days, information sharing and problem-solving is amazingly accessible to so many people.