Do Cryptographers burn? Today's cryptography is to a certain degree based on trusting a handful of experts, maybe the world's top 100 (300? 1000?) in cryptography. Does this require those people to be trustworthy?
Basically, the cryptographers you refer to have risen to where they are through a process of academic training that praises honesty, hard work, and correct results. For them to suddenly cross some undrawn and unadvertised line in the sand and start faking or suppressing results, all at the same place and time, without a single one of them going for the glory of publishing "The Factoring Paper", is literally incredible.
Besides, people who can't remember to wear matching socks don't make good conspirators ;-).
So, no, you don't have to trust all of them, just that statistically some of them will slip occasionally, and the house of cards would fall down. Therefore there is no house of cards.
Greg.
Greg Rose INTERNET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Qualcomm Australia VOICE: +61-2-9817 4188 FAX: +61-2-9817 5199 Level 3, 230 Victoria Road, http://people.qualcomm.com/ggr/ Gladesville NSW 2111 232B EC8F 44C6 C853 D68F E107 E6BF CD2F 1081 A37C
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