[87183] in Cypherpunks
re: Chutzpah! FBI Calls Privacy Extremists Elitist
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Martin Minow)
Fri Sep 26 15:41:18 1997
In-Reply-To: <v03102801b05110c4e302@[17.219.103.63]>
Date: Fri, 26 Sep 1997 10:25:28 -0700
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
From: Martin Minow <minow@apple.com>
Cc: minow@apple.com
Reply-To: Martin Minow <minow@apple.com>
At 12:18 AM -0700 9/26/97, I wrote:
>> ... Extreme privacy
>>positions were ultimately elitist and nondemocratic in that they
>>presumed the views of a knowing privacy cognoscenti should pre-empt
>>the views of the nation's elected officials and the Supreme Court,
>>McDonald said.
>
>This reminds me of the state legislature that tried to change the
>value of pi to something simpler in order to help students
>struggling with their homework.
Before we go too far down the "stupid politicians" path, I would
like to clarify what I was attempting to say.
Cryptography is mathematics; it exists in the real world. Legislating
against cryptography will, ultimately, be as effective as changing
the value of pi by legislation or passing a Papal edict that the
the earth is the center of the universe. Pass whatever edict you please:
"and, yet it moves."
Martin Minow
minow@apple.com
