I don't see how linking hacking and thinking brings any new insight. It's pretty obvious the two are connected. Hacking and painting is a more interesting cross-pollination.
The title "Hackers and Painters", in my opinion, doesn't overstate anything - it's an appropriate title, out of many, for the essay.
I said "Hackers and Thinkers" just to illustrate the point that we tend to overemphasize our own particular areas of interest. Hacking and thinking don't have to go together - as an example, PG is a thinker who writes essays, but there exist many great hackers who don't spend much time thinking about general stuff. They tend to be fairly narrowly focused.
The title "Hackers and Painters", in my opinion, doesn't overstate anything - it's an appropriate title, out of many, for the essay.