This article is being republished from A First Taste of Law.

I have used the term hacking quite often, and not always in the strictest sense that most people are comfortable with. Two of iPleaders’ properties are named CLAThacker and BarHacker.

There are computer geeks who will not agree that anyone other than a coder can be called a hacker.

There are lawyers and teachers who are upset due to the use of the word. They think we are teaching people shortcuts to pass exams. They seem to think that your teachers have asked you to read big fat textbooks which will make a great lawyer out of you, but we are giving you easy digests to read so the system is not working.

Other people still think that hacking is a crime and hackers are denizens of darkness.

Hence, I think it is high time to explain our stand on what is hacking.

According to us, hacking is finding new, easy, systematic solutions to sticky, difficult problems. Where other people are using hammers, it is a reminder to those willing to listen that using the brain will be better. Hacking is an attitude of attacking problems with intelligence. While study hacking may make things simpler, or sometimes provide a better roadmap, students still need to do the work themselves.

The hacking involved here is coming up with drastically improved processes for exam taking and learning. The learning still has to take place. This is not like consuming an aspirin. Despite a hack being used by everyone when it comes to studying and taking exams, the results can drastically vary depending on the student’s ability and effort.

While hacking may make a goal more achievable, it also teaches a person to be incredibly efficient and effective. I think in a country like India, we should all aspire to become hackers.