Post #4191792

Whenever I'm confronted by these sorts of judgments, I'm never quite sure how to feel (let alone react). Like, sure, it's flattering. I can take compliments! (If by "take" you actually mean "skillfully deflect", heh. :P) But I don't like the weird framing it implies. Cryptography isn't hard because you need to be part of the Special Boys Club of Mega Geniuses. (I guess they call that Mensa?) Cryptography is hard because it can go wrong in a lot of subtle ways, many of which fail silently while offering false confidence that puts people in harm's way. Cryptography requires training, discipline, and a deep curiosity to keep up-to-date with new attacks and blind spots in earlier designs. It doesn't require being, like, Terrance Tao or Albert Einstein.