Hacker’s mindset could be key for Thailand 4.0
Watching a TED talk by hacker Pablo Holman recently, I realised he had the perfect antidote to the rote-learning that is holding back the Thai education system. (The talk in question is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqKafI7Amd8).
Holman, an ethical hacker, explained what was so valuable in the mindset of a hacker, and at the same time accidentally put his finger on the missing ingredient that is delaying the launch of Thailand 4.0. He explained the hacker’s mind is optimised for discovery – ie, to figure out what is possible.
If you buy a new gadget and show it to your mother, she might ask, “But what does this do?” You would answer; “Mum, it’s a phone” – and she would instantly know exactly what it’s for. But the hacker would ask a different question – “What can I make this do?”
The result of that inquiry might be to take all the screws out, take the back off, dismantle the gadget into little pieces and then think what can be built from the rubble. This process is called discovery, and we need to do that in the Science and Technology (STEM) subjects now at the core of the Thai education system, to figure out what is possible.
The ethical hacker’s mindset offers a blueprint that we desperately need on a large scale to pave the way for the leap to the “4.0” era in Thai education and working life.
Dirk Sumter
