Hacker
A "hacker" is a motivated creative problem solver and innovator within the context of computer programming.
Major media unfortunately uses this term when they mean "cracker" (a person who tries to break into computer systems.)
foldoc has a good definitions: http://foldoc.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?hacker
How To Become A Hacker: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html
How the hacker culture functions: http://catb.org/~esr/writings/homesteading/