I remember being around 7 or 8 and reading this (and other texts of the times in question) and being inspired by the inherent culture which had at it's simplest reduction an insatiable need to consume knowledge by means of discovery. It inspired me to learn C and tinker with Linux and BSD. It also had a part on a quirky math phase I had - which ended causing my math teachers pain when trying to teach a 13 year old the usual basics ended having to grade exams with the most intricate and elaborate (and long) solutions to simple questions and puzzles.

It inspired me to open up my old Packard Bell branded computer and tinker with it until a soldering iron made it meet it's demise. This series of texts also inspired in me a need to know everything there is about computer security, and of course, the only way to put that knowledge to the test is in real world applications like hacking the school systems to take a peek at que quarterly final exams, compromising machines to use as botnets to do fun stuff in IRC, and of course taking advantage of the "unlimited" bandwidth available to the school. Thankfully the school took this as a rebellious kid/teen learning as much as possible about computers and systems and ending up giving me the task to secure their network and physical machines, to the dismay of the actual computer administrators in school.

I bet that this type of reading material inspired an army of people just like me to tinker, hack, and learn as much as possible. Aaron Swartz was probably one of them - being only three years younger than me, and probably one of the most influential in this harsh times for both hackers and activists. Now hopefully his person and his work will become part of the inspiration for future generations, the same way this text by "The Mentor" was for my generation.