 How did you get started in hacking/programming?
nrr: The demoscene made me do it.  I think the thing that got me hooked was seeing Future Crew's "Second Reality" and having the desire to do that kind of stuff.As far as the second question goes, I think I'd prefer to be blissfully oblivious. :)  That said, I've blackboxed pretty much everything I know outside of Lisp, so I think one of those truths that should be shared with others can be summed up by saying, "Exploration is key.  Don't be afraid to take a sledgehammer to the code you're working on.  Your future self may end up thanking you for it."