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?

1: REMOVE ANY TRACE OF SOCIAL LIFE.
2: READ MANPAGES
3: THROW COMMANDS AT THINGS AND CAREFULLY DOCUMENT WHAT HAPPENS
4: ???????
5: PARTY V&