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{{redirect|Slackers}} {{redirect|Slackers}}
The term '''slacker''' is commonly used to refer to a ] person or a ].
{{Original research|date=September 2007}}
The term '''slacker''' was commonly used in the ] in ] and ] to describe men who were avoiding the military draft. But in the ] it specifically referred to a variety of tendencies in the young generation—a use popularized by ]'s movie '']'' - subsequently spawning the label "slacker generation." A typical slacker is characterized by a static, unenthusiastic air manifesting in an apparent lack of effort. This lack of ] is usually represented as a status of ] or only minor employment in the service industry.

Hard work for its own sake is a fairly modern phenomenon, becoming culturally acceptable during the ] ]. A positive view of work was not a cultural norm for ], ], or ] cultures. Greek society recognized that work was necessary for the satisfaction of material needs, but philosophers such as ] and ] made it clear that the purpose for which the majority of men labored was "in order that the minority, the élite, might engage in pure exercises of the mind — ], ], and ]". The Greeks believed that a person's ], ], and ] was directly proportional to the amount of ] time that person had.

Some philosophers argue for ] as a ] (especially constructive laziness). Paul Lafargue did so in 1883 in his "The Right to be Lazy,", which ends with the utterance, "O Laziness, mother of the arts and noble virtues, be thou the balm of human anguish!" In his essay "In Praise of Idleness,", Bertrand Russell advocates the reduction of the workday to four hours, made possible by modern technology, and claims that this makes unnecessary the dogma of the virtue of work. He states that he hopes "that, after reading the following pages, the leaders of the YMCA will start a campaign to induce good young men to do nothing."

Another maxim that typifies the slacker is "Do not ]." For example, in ], it often is easier to re-use previously written code than coming up with a new implementation of some algorithm.

Apart from meaning lazy, ''slacker'' may also be used to insinuate habitual ] and a disorganized, slovenly lifestyle. Proponents of ''slacker theory'' assert that managing to survive by doing things at the last possible moment improves intellect as a compensatory way to cope, fashioning a wily yet lazy person. Similarly, a disorganized lifestyle may be superior to an organized one from the pragmatic perspective that a slacker will adapt to disorderliness by improving skills at memorization and at effortlessly rummaging, whereas actively organizing would require serious effort. Hence, the epithet ''slacker'', while often used in the ], is growingly signifying a complimentary, cerebral quality of an unconventional person. For another example of a bimodally pejorative and affectionate term, see ]. There is also a slight overlap among slacker culture, ] culture, and ] culture insofar as they all are implying a disheveled appearance; however their relative ] precludes their involvement in any movement, as the work involved in being involved in anything at all is against the slacker way of life.

The British equivalent of slackers are "idlers." In fact, it might be said that the British came up with the idea first. Several recent books are compendiums of "Lazy" writing, including "The Idler's Companion (1997)," edited by ] and Matthew De Albaituia, and "The Importance of Being Idle (2000)," by Stephen Robins. But their sources are as often American as British. Compare also ].

The term was revived in popular culture in the 1980s hit movie '']''. In the trilogy, the high school principal Mr. Strickland and his ancestors call every youth a "slacker!".


==Fictional slackers== ==Fictional slackers==

Revision as of 18:00, 2 November 2007

"Slackers" redirects here. For other uses, see Slackers (disambiguation).

The term slacker is commonly used to refer to a lazy person or a procrastinator.

Fictional slackers

Ben Stone- Knocked up

Reese, Francis- Malcolm in the Middle

Slackers and computers

Main article: Slackware

The term Slacker is also used for a person who uses or advocates use of the Slackware distribution of Linux. This use of "Slack" comes from the Church of the SubGenius. Slackware does fit in with the concept of slacker in that it follows the KISS principle, relying heavily on simple, flexible text scripts rather than fancy yet brittle GUI elements. The Slackware logo is Tux the penguin with a corncob pipe.

See also

References

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