In my mind, a hacker has a deep desire to understand
Extremely simple analogy: Most people are happy that when they flip a switch, a light comes on. They might even know how to install a switch and change a bulb. But a hacker isn't happy/content with this surface knowledge. Instead, s/he wants to know what's happening in the background to create the outcome. Once this background knowledge is gained, the hacker has a lot of tools available to solve/invent that the majority of others will not - this makes the hacker extremely efficient. S/he may also take this knowledge and apply it to other domains.
Apply this to telephony, networking, hardware, low-level programming, .... and you should be able to easily come up with similar analogies for any discipline.
Extremely simple analogy: Most people are happy that when they flip a switch, a light comes on. They might even know how to install a switch and change a bulb. But a hacker isn't happy/content with this surface knowledge. Instead, s/he wants to know what's happening in the background to create the outcome. Once this background knowledge is gained, the hacker has a lot of tools available to solve/invent that the majority of others will not - this makes the hacker extremely efficient. S/he may also take this knowledge and apply it to other domains.
Apply this to telephony, networking, hardware, low-level programming, .... and you should be able to easily come up with similar analogies for any discipline.