Wade John Beckett
Philosopher | Gnu/Linux Systems Administrator
Truth. Love. Anarchy.
Who am I?
If you’re looking for a single tidy label, good luck. My mother called me Wade John Beckett. I’m a South African-born explorer who thinks in terminal windows, lifts heavy things for fun, and believes that technology should make humans more free, not less. I’m a GNU/Linux systems administrator by trade, a philosopher at heart, and the sort of person who sees “root” not just as a permission level, but as a way of living with autonomy and responsibility.
I grew up roaming South Africa and its neighbours, falling in love with wild places, deep conversations, and any problem that could be solved with curiosity and a bit of relentless fortitude. In 2020 I moved to Ireland. The lockdowns pulled me into politics and philosophy more seriously; I even started a blog and podcast to wrestle with ideas like authority, freedom, coercion, and what a moral life looks like in a messy world. These days I write less publicly and focus more on building — infrastructure, skills, networks, and a company that reflects what I care about.
A life of exploration
I’ve had my fair share of adventure. For example, as a younger and bolder me, I entered into a tiger’s enclosure and got bit, fortunately without too much damage. Another time, I grabbed a lift on a giant sea turtle whilst scuba diving, then swam through an underwater cave in Mozambique while gloriously under-slept and hungover from the night before. I’m deep-qualified for scuba and have dived reefs along the east coast of South Africa that are out of this world. I’ve swam with dolphins, and been chased by elephants. I’ve met the African wilderness on its own terms — always respectfully, sometimes with teeth marks.
Philosophy & values
My worldview sits somewhere between anarchism’s suspicion of centralized power and a practical desire to make things work in the real world. The non-aggression principle resonates with me: morality starts with not initiating force. I prefer systems that reduce coercion and increase agency. That’s why I love free and open-source software — not as a fashion statement, but as a governance model. Privacy is better than surveillance. Voluntary collaboration beats compulsion. Decentralization is resilient.
“Root” is my favourite metaphor: maximum power matched by maximum accountability. Use it carefully, know what you’re doing, and leave the system better than you found it.
Work & craft
Professionally, I live in the world of Linux servers, networks, and the quiet satisfaction of services that stay online. I build, harden, and fix systems; I’m fluent in the unglamorous parts: mail, DNS, backups, storage, monitoring, and the endless dance with logs. My current focus is advancing deep skills around privacy and encryption, and applying that mindset to the fast-moving frontier of AI. I founded Noiz to align my work with my principles and to help people host and communicate without handing their lives to giant platforms — but I’m also open to meaningful roles that value this approach. If you want the chronological details and credentials, I’ve got a separate career page for that.
Beyond work
I lift heavy (powerlifting is my meditation), and I have my own opinions about pizza dough, olive oil, and the correct ratio of rice to fish. Sushi and pizza are my love languages. I enjoy firearms as part of a coherent view of self-defence and responsibility — not as a personality, but because the moral right to be left alone sometimes needs practical support. I’m also addicted to learning: mindset, happiness, health, wisdom, wealth — the classic quartet (with a fifth plate for dessert).
Vision
I’d like to see a world where freedom and morality quietly win — not with slogans, but with systems that make the right thing the easy thing. Infrastructure that respects privacy. Software you can inspect and improve. Secure networks that are hard to censor. Human beings with the space to pursue excellence and joy. And yes, one day I’d like to stand on the ice in Antarctica and plant a flag for a tiny, sovereign experiment in doing things better. Lighthearted, but not a joke.
If any of this resonates — the philosophy, the craft, or the stories with bite marks — you’ll probably enjoy the rest of my site. And if you’re here for the nuts and bolts of what I’ve built and shipped, head over to the career page next.