Let's talk about hackers.

It is a more complicated word than people realize, largely because it is a more complicated word than most reporters realize.

Contrary to the popular notion of a greasy, basement-dwelling, malicious nerd trying to guess your email password or trick you into giving over your social security number, a hacker by the most general definition is basically interchangeable with the word programmer or coder.

It is just a person who writes computer programs, whether for keeping financial records, infecting other computers with a virus or just scheduling regular maintenanc...