Read Book the Code Book the Science of Secrecy from Ancient

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Read Book the Code Book the Science of Secrecy from Ancient THE CODE BOOK THE SCIENCE OF SECRECY FROM ANCIENT EGYPT TO QUANTUM CRYPTOGRAPHY 1ST EDITION PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Simon Singh | 9780385495325 | | | | | The Code Book The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography 1st edition PDF Book See details. The conspirators were a group of young English Catholic noblemen intent on removing Elizabeth, a Protestant, and replacing her with Mary, a fellow Catholic. The Code Book Simon Singh. Enlarge cover. The challenge for Walsingham was to demonstrate a palpable link between Mary and the plotters. October 4, Sign up Log in. To convey his instructions securely, Histaiaeus shaved the head of his messenger, wrote the message on his scalp, and then waited for the hair to regrow. Mary was gently guided away from the throne and towards the opposite side of the room, to the defendant's seat, a crimson velvet chair. Xerxes had lost the vital element of surprise and, on 23 September bc, when the Persian fleet approached the Bay of Salamis near Athens, the Greeks were prepared. It will also make you wonder how private that e-mail you just sent really is. The further the time progresses, the more complex and with an ever shorter expiration date the techniques of the specialists are provided. August 24, On the morning of her trial, Mary sat alone in the dock, dressed in sorrowful black velvet. Years of imprisonment and the onset of rheumatism had taken their toll, yet she remained dignified, composed and indisputably regal. So we learn how complex codes developed from very simple ones, and Simon explains along the way that there are ancient code Mr Singh manages to explain concepts that should be way beyond this thickie's level of understanding. More filters. Singh does an excellent job explaining the development and process of cryptography and cryptanalysis in easy to understand terms except for me perhaps the working of the Enigma, which still is a bit of an enigma! Images Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape Donate Ellipses icon An illustration of text ellipses. My favorite part is when he talks about the decipherment of Linear B which led me to another amazing book of the same name , an ancient language discovered in the remains of a palace in Crete. This guy's knowledge and history is astounding, and while much of it is beyond me to fully understand, I am enamored with the way the stories unravel. That proved to be a bureaucratic nightmare, and as the Internet created a need for encrypted messages between individuals and online stores or other persons, the deliverer of the key became very important. Details if other :. I love a good puzzle, and this history of making, cracking, and innovating secret codes was enthralling. When his stunted acting career is suddenly, Please note that I put the original German text at the end of this review. Other editions. Jun 13, Cindy rated it it was amazing Shelves: science , non-fiction , own. A journey through the history of coding, cryptography, and codebreaking. It gives a good description of many encryption methods used throughout history, and how they were broken. If he could decipher the incriminating letters between Mary and the conspirators, then her death would be inevitable. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. May 14, Richard Derus rated it it was ok Shelves: lfl-from , pearl-ruled , owned. In the two thousand years since Herodotus, various forms of steganography have been used throughout the world. The Persian princess Artemisia became surrounded on three sides and attempted to head back out to sea, only to ram one of her own ships. We're all intrigued by codes - witness the popularity of newspaper coffee break pages which will usually include a codeword problem. His grieving father, Daniel, seeks a second chance for them in a coal mining town, where he begins working for Other Editions Unfortunately for Mary, Walsingham was not merely Principal Secretary, he was also England's spymaster. The Book of Dead Philosophers. Blaise de Vigeniere solved this weakness by inventing the Vigeniere square, which provided multiple cipher alphabets using keywords to link letters with particular alphabets, a polyalphabetic cipher. Now anyone could encrypt a message with total security. The style is very easy and pleasant to read, everything is pretty understandable even if you don't have a math background sometimes to the point of being slightly inaccurate and there are a lot of interesting stories inbetween. This book has a single downside — it's so pleasant and easy to read, that you'll be done with it in no time. Also, I might not be as smart as I thought I was. The Code Book The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography 1st edition Writer In the fifteenth century, the Italian scientist Giovanni Porta described how to conceal a message within a hard-boiled egg by making an ink from a mixture of one ounce of alum and a pint of vinegar, and then using it to write on the shell. It will also make you wonder how private that e-mail you just sent really is"--Publisher's description Includes bibliographical references and index. The book concludes with a discussion of " pretty good privacy " PGP , quantum computing , and quantum cryptography. Explanations of the theories behind cryptography are woven together with anecdotes of times when code-making or code-breaking was integral to historical events. In turn, cryptography itself can be divided into two branches, known as transposition and substitution. Would the code breakers have the final say, or will the code makers thwart their attempts again? Chronologically arranged, the book begins in ancient times and describes simple forms of encryption such as shaving the head, tattooing a message, waiting a few weeks or wrapping a leather strip described with essential words around a stick of specified thickness. To convey his instructions securely, Histaiaeus shaved the head of his messenger, wrote the message on his scalp, and then waited for the hair to regrow. In this collection of brief lives and deaths of nearly two hundred of the world's greatest thinkers, noted philosopher Simon Critchley creates a register of mortality that is tragic, amusing, absurd, and exemplary. Maybe this is what growing up is about! The book can be looked at in three perspectives. His use of characters called Alice,Bob and Eve to explain the codes, made it easy for a layperson like me to understand the theory behind them. Before reading this book, I only had a very rudimentary knowledge of cryptography and am very much the layman. But in the Information Age, cryptography is about political power, and in particular, about the power relationship between a government and its people. Oct 13, Stefan Kanev rated it it was amazing. However, the Persian military build-up had been witnessed by Demaratus, a Greek who had been expelled from his homeland and who lived in the Persian city of Susa. Simon Singh. This work caused quite a stir a couple of years ago when Drosnin, building really on the work of several Hebrew scholars, claimed to have discovered several prophecies hidden in the text of the Bible, a forecast of the assassination of the Kennedys and of Anwar Sadat. October 4, Simon Lehna Singh, MBE is a British author who has specialised in writing about mathematical and scientific topics in an accessible manner. The computer makes encoding very easy and quite unbreakable. Singh also touches upon the inherent conflicts of interest between the public, who want to guard their data as securely as possible, and government agencies, who want to be able to break encryption to safeguard national security. Alternative Medicine on Trial about complementary and alternative medicine. Now anyone could encrypt a message with total security. Some other languages, e. If you're fascinated by puzzles, curious about history, or you want to know what privacy really means in the 21st century, pick up this book. Books Video icon An illustration of two cells of a film strip. In cases of treason, the accused was forbidden counsel and was not permitted to call witnesses. It will also make you wonder how private that e-mail you just sent really is. May 14, Richard Derus rated it it was ok Shelves: lfl-from , pearl-ruled , owned. I really enjoyed The Code Book. If one doesn't work for you then the next will until you get it. Anyway, this book. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. We hear constantly about the worry that the NSA, CIA, and others in government have about the easy ability of ordinary people to have a level of encryption that is indecipherable. Singh may be the best science writer out there. For other uses, see Codebook disambiguation. Check nearby libraries Library. The Code Book The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography 1st edition Reviews I was never left a little bored at parts as I occasionally am during non-fiction books because it is a continuous stor This is a fascinating introduction to the world of cryptography. Books for People with Print Disabilities. An imaginary gold star, but still… hide spoiler ] Another plus for me was his inclusion of ancient scripts and their decipherment. May 27, Gorab Jain rated it it was amazing Shelves: non-fiction , Mar 07, Mario the lone bookwolf rated it it was amazing Shelves: 0-technology , singh-simon. Would 10th graders be able to follow this book? Not many of us may be aware of how cryptography has shaped world history, and it might come as a shock to know some of the key moments in countless wars were decided by the strength or weakness of a particular cipher.
Recommended publications
  • June 2014 Society Meetings Society and Events SHEPHARD PRIZE: NEW PRIZE Meetings for MATHEMATICS 2014 and Events Following a Very Generous Tions Open in Late 2014
    LONDONLONDON MATHEMATICALMATHEMATICAL SOCIETYSOCIETY NEWSLETTER No. 437 June 2014 Society Meetings Society and Events SHEPHARD PRIZE: NEW PRIZE Meetings FOR MATHEMATICS 2014 and Events Following a very generous tions open in late 2014. The prize Monday 16 June donation made by Professor may be awarded to either a single Midlands Regional Meeting, Loughborough Geoffrey Shephard, the London winner or jointly to collaborators. page 11 Mathematical Society will, in 2015, The mathematical contribution Friday 4 July introduce a new prize. The prize, to which an award will be made Graduate Student to be known as the Shephard must be published, though there Meeting, Prize will be awarded bienni- is no requirement that the pub- London ally. The award will be made to lication be in an LMS-published page 8 a mathematician (or mathemati- journal. Friday 4 July cians) based in the UK in recog- Professor Shephard himself is 1 Society Meeting nition of a specific contribution Professor of Mathematics at the Hardy Lecture to mathematics with a strong University of East Anglia whose London intuitive component which can be main fields of interest are in page 9 explained to those with little or convex geometry and tessella- Wednesday 9 July no knowledge of university math- tions. Professor Shephard is one LMS Popular Lectures ematics, though the work itself of the longest-standing members London may involve more advanced ideas. of the LMS, having given more page 17 The Society now actively en- than sixty years of membership. Tuesday 19 August courages members to consider The Society wishes to place on LMS Meeting and Reception nominees who could be put record its thanks for his support ICM 2014, Seoul forward for the award of a in the establishment of the new page 11 Shephard Prize when nomina- prize.
    [Show full text]
  • Issn: 2278-6244 New Approach of Arabic Encryption/Decryption Technique Using Vigenere Cipher on Mod 39
    International Journal of Advanced Research in IT and Engineering ISSN: 2278-6244 NEW APPROACH OF ARABIC ENCRYPTION/DECRYPTION TECHNIQUE USING VIGENERE CIPHER ON MOD 39 Yahya Alqahtani* Prakash Kuppuswamy* Sikandhar Shah* Abstract: The cryptographic methods for enhancing the security of digital contents have gained high significance in the current era. This paper sets out to contribute to the general body of knowledge in the area of classical cryptography by developing a new way of Arabic encryption using Arabic plaintext. The new innovation idea discusses modification of Vigenère cipher which works by adding a key repeatedly into the plaintext using the ,and 28 assigned to blank space and =29 27 = ي , . ,1 =ب ,0 = أ convention that and addition is carried out modulo 39 that is, if the result is greater than 39, we ;38=٩…30= subtract as many multiples of 39 as are needed to bring us into the range [0, . , 38], that is, ,The paper has the following structure: section II consist of related works .[٩ , . ,أ] section III of the methodology, section IV The algorithm section V Implementation, section VI Results and Analysis and section VII concluded the paper. Keywords: Caesar cipher, Vigenere cipher, modulation, symmetric key, Plain text, Cipher text. *Lecturer, Department of Computer Engineering & Networks, Jazan University, Jazan, KSA. Vol. 2 | No. 12 | December 2013 www.garph.co.uk IJARIE | 1 International Journal of Advanced Research in IT and Engineering ISSN: 2278-6244 I INTRODUCTION Cryptology has existed for more than 2000 years. But, what is cryptology? The word cryptology is derived from two Greek words: kryptos, which means "hidden or secret," and logos, which means, "description." Cryptology means secret speech or communication.
    [Show full text]
  • JPBM Communications Award Is Given to He Takes a Particular Interest in Problems That Lie Ian Stewart of the University of Warwick
    comm-jpbm.qxp 3/5/99 3:49 PM Page 568 JPBM Awards Presented in San Antonio The Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM) The sheer volume of this work is staggering, but Communications Award was established in 1988 the quality is spectacular as well. With clarity and to reward and encourage journalists and other humor, Ian Stewart explains everything from num- communicators who, on a sustained basis, bring ber theory to fractals, from Euclidean geometry to accurate mathematical information to nonmathe- fluid dynamics, from game theory to foundations. matical audiences. Any person is eligible as long He conveys both the beauty and the utility of math- as that person’s work communicates primarily ematics in a way seldom achieved by a single au- with nonmathematical audiences. The lifetime thor, and he does so with charm and eloquence. award recognizes a significant contribution or ac- cumulated contributions to public understanding Biographical Sketch of mathematics. Ian Stewart was born in 1945, did his undergrad- At the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San An- uate degree at Cambridge, and his Ph.D. at Warwick. tonio in January 1999, the 1999 JPBM Communi- He is now a professor at Warwick University and cations Award was presented to IAN STEWART. Below director of the Mathematics Awareness Centre at is the award citation, a biographical sketch, and Warwick. He has held visiting positions in Ger- Stewart’s response upon receiving the award. This many, New Zealand, Connecticut, and Texas. He has is followed by information about a JPBM Special published over 120 papers. His present field is Communications Award presented to JOHN LYNCH the effects of symmetry on nonlinear dynamics, and SIMON SINGH.
    [Show full text]
  • Polish Mathematicians Finding Patterns in Enigma Messages
    Fall 2006 Chris Christensen MAT/CSC 483 Machine Ciphers Polyalphabetic ciphers are good ways to destroy the usefulness of frequency analysis. Implementation can be a problem, however. The key to a polyalphabetic cipher specifies the order of the ciphers that will be used during encryption. Ideally there would be as many ciphers as there are letters in the plaintext message and the ordering of the ciphers would be random – an one-time pad. More commonly, some rotation among a small number of ciphers is prescribed. But, rotating among a small number of ciphers leads to a period, which a cryptanalyst can exploit. Rotating among a “large” number of ciphers might work, but that is hard to do by hand – there is a high probability of encryption errors. Maybe, a machine. During World War II, all the Allied and Axis countries used machine ciphers. The United States had SIGABA, Britain had TypeX, Japan had “Purple,” and Germany (and Italy) had Enigma. SIGABA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIGABA 1 A TypeX machine at Bletchley Park. 2 From the 1920s until the 1970s, cryptology was dominated by machine ciphers. What the machine ciphers typically did was provide a mechanical way to rotate among a large number of ciphers. The rotation was not random, but the large number of ciphers that were available could prevent depth from occurring within messages and (if the machines were used properly) among messages. We will examine Enigma, which was broken by Polish mathematicians in the 1930s and by the British during World War II. The Japanese Purple machine, which was used to transmit diplomatic messages, was broken by William Friedman’s cryptanalysts.
    [Show full text]
  • 0137135599 Sample.Pdf
    Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters or in all capitals. The authors and publisher have taken care in the preparation of this book, but make no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the use of the information or programs contained herein. The publisher offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales, which may include electronic versions and/or custom covers and content particular to your business, training goals, marketing focus, and branding interests. For more information, please contact: U.S. Corporate and Government Sales (800) 382-3419 [email protected] For sales outside the United States, please contact: International Sales [email protected] Visit us on the Web: www.informit.com/aw Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Abelson, Harold. Blown to bits : your life, liberty, and happiness after the digital explosion / Hal Abelson, Ken Ledeen, Harry Lewis. p. cm. ISBN 0-13-713559-9 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Computers and civilization. 2. Information technology—Technological innovations. 3. Digital media. I. Ledeen, Ken, 1946- II. Lewis, Harry R. III. Title. QA76.9.C66A245 2008 303.48’33—dc22 2008005910 Copyright © 2008 Hal Abelson, Ken Ledeen, and Harry Lewis All rights reserved.
    [Show full text]
  • Fermat's Last Theorem
    Fermat's Last Theorem In number theory, Fermat's Last Theorem (sometimes called Fermat's conjecture, especially in older texts) Fermat's Last Theorem states that no three positive integers a, b, and c satisfy the equation an + bn = cn for any integer value of n greater than 2. The cases n = 1 and n = 2 have been known since antiquity to have an infinite number of solutions.[1] The proposition was first conjectured by Pierre de Fermat in 1637 in the margin of a copy of Arithmetica; Fermat added that he had a proof that was too large to fit in the margin. However, there were first doubts about it since the publication was done by his son without his consent, after Fermat's death.[2] After 358 years of effort by mathematicians, the first successful proof was released in 1994 by Andrew Wiles, and formally published in 1995; it was described as a "stunning advance" in the citation for Wiles's Abel Prize award in 2016.[3] It also proved much of the modularity theorem and opened up entire new approaches to numerous other problems and mathematically powerful modularity lifting techniques. The unsolved problem stimulated the development of algebraic number theory in the 19th century and the proof of the modularity theorem in the 20th century. It is among the most notable theorems in the history of mathematics and prior to its proof was in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "most difficult mathematical problem" in part because the theorem has the largest number of unsuccessful proofs.[4] Contents The 1670 edition of Diophantus's Arithmetica includes Fermat's Overview commentary, referred to as his "Last Pythagorean origins Theorem" (Observatio Domini Petri Subsequent developments and solution de Fermat), posthumously published Equivalent statements of the theorem by his son.
    [Show full text]
  • The Book Review Column1 by William Gasarch Dept of Computer Science Univ
    The Book Review Column1 by William Gasarch Dept of Computer Science Univ. of MD at College Park College Park, MD, 20742 email: [email protected] Slight change in information given: in the past I have provided price and ISBN numbers of books. The notion of price is ill-defined: the website www.bestbookbuys.com gives a range of prices from place to purchase books on the web. (amazon.com is usually not the cheapest, and its usually not even close.). Providing ISBN numbers is also not needed in this electronic age where such information is available at the touch of a button. If the price is notable{ either rather high or rather low, this might be mentioned in the review. Welcome to the Book Reviews Column. We hope to bring you at least two reviews of books every month. In this column five books are reviewed. 1. The Codebreakers: The story of secret writing , by David Kahn reviewed by William Gasarch. This is a rather complete history of crypto up to World War II. The key question for us is, should someone doing research in cryptography read this book? 2. The Code Book: The Evolution of Secrecy from Mary Queen of Scots to Quantum Cryptography , by Simon Singh. This book review originally appeared in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society, March 2000, and is reprinted here with permission. Review by Jim Reeds. This is a recent book on the history of crypto that is quite popular. But is it accurate? Read the review to find out. 3. DNA Based Computers V (Proceedings of a Dimacs Workshop) edited by Eric Winfree and David K.
    [Show full text]
  • Historical Cryptography
    Cryptography A Brief History and Introduction MATH/COSC 314 Based on slides by Anne Ho Carolina Coastal University What is cryptography? κρυπτός γράφω “hidden, secret” “writing” ● Cryptology Study of communication securely over insecure channels ● Cryptography Writing (or designing systems to write) messages securely ● Cryptanalysis Study of methods to analyze and break hidden messages Secure Communications Encryption Decryption Key Key Plaintext Ciphertext Plaintext Alice Encrypt Decrypt Bob Eve ● Symmetric Key: Alice and Bob use a (preshared) secret key. ● Public Key: Bob makes an encryption key public that Alice uses to encrypt a message. Only Bob has the decryption key. Possible Attacks Eve (the eavesdropper) is trying to: ● Read Alice’s message. ● Find Alice’s key to read all of Alice’s messages. ● Corrupt Alice’s message, so Bob receives an altered message. ● Pretend to be Alice and communicate with Bob. Why this matters ● Confidentiality Only Bob should be able to read Alice’s message. ● Data integrity Alice’s message shouldn’t be altered in any way. ● Authentication Bob wants to make sure Alice actually sent the message. ● Non-repudiation Alice cannot claim she didn’t send the message. Going back in time… 5th century BC Secret writing and steganography saved Greece from being completely conquered by the Persians. ● Invisible Ink ● Shaved head Steganography vs. Cryptography Steganography hides the existence of a message. Cryptography hides the meaning of a message. Back to 5th century BC Lysander of Sparta used a scytale for encryption. Back to 5th century BC The sender wraps the message around a rod of a fixed diameter. Example: “Help me I am under attack.” H E L P M E I A M U N D E R A T T A C K HENTEIDTLAEAPMRCMUAK ● To decrypt, just wrap strip around a rod of the same diameter.
    [Show full text]
  • Year 11 – Post Easter Reading / Research
    Year 11 – post Easter reading / research A particular well done to those of you who have been maintaining a study structure at home with the help of your teachers. It is vital that you do not allow there to be a 6 months’ gap in your learning and academic studies – resuming these in September after such a long gap will be very difficult otherwise. In due course, the post-16 institutions you have applied to will offer information on transition and induction; if you have any questions about specific courses, they should be able to answer them. For obvious reasons, most teachers will now stop setting specific revision-related tasks, although there may be a few subjects (like Citizenship) that will require you to finish the course. Instead, we have compiled a list of subject-related reading and research intended to help bridge the gap to your post-16 courses (note that these are general suggestions, so please don’t go out spending lots of money on them!). This could be a golden time for you to acquire a range of background knowledge and information that ordinarily you might not have time for – see this highly unusual period as an opportunity! If you felt you wanted to go further and write up some of your findings, the table on the last page offers some advice on the process and possible formats. Remember, you are still a TK student, so do ask relevant teachers if you need any further advice. Best of luck! Mr Patrick Subject Suggested reading / research Art 'Art in Theory 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas', Charles Harrison and Paul
    [Show full text]
  • British Centre for Science Education.Pdf
    British Centre for Science Education Share Report Abuse Next Blog» Create Blog Sign In British Centre for Science Education CRISIS - WEDNESDAY, 11 MAY 2011 BLOG ARCHIVE CREATIONISM IN SCHOOLS ISN'T Blog Archive Archive SCIENCE PETITION: SIGNATURE LIST Close that loophole Mr Gove LABELS FEED The BCSE is very pleased to announce that a letter from CrISIS has today been NSS CrISIS Michael Gove Signature #2788 delivered to Michael Gove at the Department for Education formally asking him to Ekklesia BCSE (1) 21st Signature #2787 close the loophole that allows creationists into state funded schools to present Floor (5) A C Grayling Signature #2786 Creationism to our children as a valid scientific fact. (2) A N Wilson (1) AAAS Signature #2785 (2) Adam Frank (1) Adam Rutherford (1) AGW (6) Signature #2784 This is the next part of the CrISIS campaign we told you about here and here - if AIG (8) AIG UK (6) you haven't done so yet - please sign the petition. Alastair Noble (15) Alom Shaha (1) altruism PAGES (1) an evolving creation Home (1) Andrew Brown (2) Andrew Inns (1) Andrew Creationism In Schools Isn't Schlafy (1) Andrew Sibley Science - CrISIS (1) Andrew Snelling (1) AndromedasWake (2) About this Blog Andy McIntosh (4) Free Schools and Anglican (2) Anthony Creationism North (1) Antony Bush BCSE (2) apartheid (1) Downloadable argument from ignorance Resources (1) arguments from Creation Watch improbability (1) AronRa 'Explore Evolution' (3) Art Robinson (1) ASE Exposed (1) Astronomy (2) atheist An Open Letter to (1) Ayala (1) bad religion School
    [Show full text]
  • History of Cryptography an EASY to UNDERSTAND HISTORY of CRYPTOGRAPHY Contents
    History of Cryptography AN EASY TO UNDERSTAND HISTORY OF CRYPTOGRAPHY Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. Classical Encryptions (Ancient Times) 4 3. Classical Encryptions (Middle Ages) 6 The Cipher of Mary Queen of Scots 6 Vigenère Ciphers 6 Uesugi Cipher 7 4. Modern Ciphers: Ciphers during World War I and the Emergence of Encryption Machines 8 German Communication Cables Disconnected by the United Kingdom 8 Zimmermann Telegram 8 ADFGVX Cipher 8 The Birth of Enigma 9 5. Modern Ciphers: Encryptions in the Computer and Internet Era 10 DES Cipher 10 Public-Key Cryptosystem 10 RSA Cipher 11 Decrypting the DES Cipher 12 Responsive Action of Cipher Enhancements for SSL 12 6. The Future of Encryption 13 7. Conclusion: Enhancing the Effectiveness of Encryptions used for SSL 14 References 14 © 2013 Thawte, Inc. All rights reserved. Thawte, the thawte logo, and other trademarks, service marks, and designs are registered or unregistered trademarks of Thawte, 2 Inc. and its subsidiaries and affi liates in the United States and in foreign countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. 1. Introduction ncryption and related technologies are widely and frequently Eused as a means of ensuring that information is secure, and their importance has been growing with the increasingly wide- spread utilization of the Internet. The use of encryption can be traced to as far back as about 3000 B.C., during the Babylonian Era. Encryption technologies evolved as they were used in military and political settings, but as a result of the recent widespread use of the Internet and the dramatic increase in the amount of information people come into contact in their daily lives, the settings in which encryption technologies are applied and implemented have increased, and they are now used all around us in our daily lives.
    [Show full text]
  • A Night out with the Nerds Sandra Knapp, James Mallet*
    Open access, freely available online Book Review/Science in the Media A Night Out with the Nerds Sandra Knapp, James Mallet* dd performance to science, the European Organization for Nuclear away.) Then Du Sol’s performance— and the equation results in Research (CERN) (see http:⁄⁄www. accompanied by theramin music and ATheatre of Science. Part scientifi c simonsingh.net). Wiseman is a overlaid with recordings of her talking lecture, part magic show, and part magician (a failed magician, he says, about how she felt while performing, in music and dance, Theatre of Science is as he deliberately drops a card he has particular how she hoped that people an innovative collaboration between palmed). Instead, he is now the world’s didn’t perceive her as a freak—opened Simon Singh and Richard Wiseman. only Professor of Public Understanding up a new dimension. The contrast The cosy atmosphere of the Soho of Psychology, at the University of between her matter-of-fact speech Theatre, stuffed with a lively crowd, Hertfordshire (see http:⁄⁄www. and the tension in the audience was which appeared swelled by a smattering richardwiseman.net). Wiseman’s forte unnerving. of family and friends, makes the is optical illusion, the magician’s stock- Although the show doesn’t end show a personal interchange between in-trade, but most impressive is his with a thunderous bang, it does have performers and audience. Several exploration of quirks of our perception real lightning—every bit as good. This in the audience must have been of ordinary things. “Psychologists today fi nal experiment (or do we mean scientists, judging by appearances: one earnestly debate if anything we see is skit?) requires two six-foot-high, out-of- enthusiastic member of the audience real at all”, he says.
    [Show full text]