On Sat, Feb 26, 2011 at 02:02:39PM -0500, [email protected] wrote:
>
> Jan and I read the book "The Enigma Machine" to each other while on road
> trips several years ago so I am sure some of my details are wrong.
That _was_ a fun book. One thing that made it even more interesting and
gave it even more depth was the very different perspective of the Enigma
(and all the math behind it) provided by Neal Stephenson's
"Cryptonomicon". For me, it held special interest since almost all of
the people involved in that process, at least on the Allied side, were
heavily involved in the development of modern computer theory.
> Finally, the book claimed the first programmable electrical computers were
> made in England for deciphering enigma messages, but all 13 were destroyed
> so that these cutting edge machines would not fall into evil hands
> (probably the Soviets).
>
> Just think of how much more brilliant Ben would be now if one had been
> smuggled into Russia!
Norm, I'm overwhelmed by your kind regard - thank you! - but I don't
think I'm quite up to "brilliant". I do think of myself as rather smart
and reasonably well educated, but I know a number of people who make me
bite my lips with envy at their wisdom, their acuity in reasoning, and
their depth of knowledge. To (mis)quote Izaak Walton, "I envy not him
that eats better meat than I do; nor him that is richer, or that wears
better clothes than I do; I envy him, and him only, that knows more and
thinks better than I do." The day I die, my biggest regret will be that
I didn't have more time to learn more things about this fascinating
world I live in.
Ben
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