it's kinda long, but I was at the Cryptorights party (as were many others on this list) where Eric did this and it was really very funny.
JeffH available at.. http://www.xent.com/FoRK-archive/oct00/0429.html http://www.cryptorights.org/events/2000/superpolynomial.html > Subject: How to Give a Math Lecture at a Party. > Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 20:32:09 -0700 > From: Eric Hughes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: Dan Haney <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> How to Give a Math Lecture at a Party. 1. Pick the right party. I would suggest the RSA patent expiration party to benefit the CryptoRights Foundation, but that party has already happened. (See http://cryptorights.org/events/patent-benefit.html ) 1a. Ensure that there are a bunch of people at the party who've had to learn more about modular rings than they ever thought they would. 1b. Ensure that these people have also had to think about analysis of runtimes. 1c. In short, ensure that there are a bunch of cypherpunks and their fellow-travellers hanging around. 2. Have the MC give away the punch line by announcing that you're going to sing a funny song. 3. Begin by insisting that the MC was mistaken. Announce that you're going to give a math lecture instead, and turn on the overhead projector. (Props are important signals of intent here.) 4. Put up, in sequence, the following four slides. Prepare the slides to be unnecessarily notational. 4-1. A description of the RSA algorithm. Include the statement N=pq and make sure to include the notation for the Euler totient function. 4-2. A description of the algorithmic runtime of the Number Field Sieve. It's really messy. Write it all out and go through it in loving detail. Talk about the best known constants. Be sure to drop Don Copperfield's name, because many good mathematical cryptography lectures do so. Point out that the logarithm of a logarithm is uncommon. 4-3. The assertion that the runtime of the NFS is slower than every polynomial function in the limit of large inputs. Use first order logic notation to avoid as many understandable words as possible. 4-4. The assertion that the runtime of the NFS is faster than every exponential function with arbitrary constant base in the limit of large inputs. Again, use first order logic notation. 5. Say the words, "So the NFS has ..." and proceed without pause to the next step. 6. Break into song. Sing the following lyrics to the obvious Mary Poppins tune. > Superpolynomial subexponential runtimes. > Even though in practice it would take you several lifetimes, > If you ran it long enough you'd always find those two primes. > Superpolynomial subexponential runtimes > > E to the root-log root-log-log [4x] > > When I was but a naive lad first coding two's and three's > I thought the only "orders of" were trivialities. > But when I saw this function something opened up to me > The elegance of computational complexity. > > [Chorus] > > I was at a meeting when up came a man in black > Who told me that his agency had mounted an attack. > Convincing him was fruitless that his budget would collapse > All I know his trumpeter will soon be playing Taps. > > [Chorus] > > In virtual environments has grown up a debate > Of whether strong cryptography can overthrow the state. > But several such technologies including public key > Shall herald in the coming age of crypto-anarchy. > > Superpolynomial subexponential runtimes > Superpolynomial subexponential runtimes > Superpolynomial subexponential runtimes > Superpolynomial subexponential runtimes 6a. Pause during each round of applause so the audience can hear all the words. Eric ---- -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cryptography Mailing List Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
