Hacking

I watched a movie on it recently and it revived my interest in something I've always been curious about, along with the Usenet and BBS underworld of days gone by. So, how is a hacker made? How do you know about and use exploits in code or whatever it is you do? Where can aspiring hackers learn what they need to learn?

Exploit it to gain more freedom? Hah.

How about being honest about it? It's a kick. It can also be quite lucrative nowadays.

Why do people feel the need to rationalize the reasons for their actions? Is looking in the mirror that hard?