[Enigmail] use of openPGP

[Graham]

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On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:59:26 -0500
"Robert J. Hansen" <rjh at sixdemonbag.org> wrote:

> Very, very few eighth graders have the mathematical chops required to
> understand asymmetric cryptography.  Even the concepts involved will
> be largely incomprehensible.
[snipped]

Here I must step in to this thread (where, perhaps, angels fear to
tread).

As a Brit, I cannot comment on the American education system, but I
know that if I was asked to understand the mathematical basis behind
some of the ciphers used in OpenPGP, I'd be unable to do so.
Fortunately, you do not have to be that mathematically literate to *use*
GPG.  I have been using first PGP now GPG for about 15 years (despite
having obvious impediments like being aged over 60 and having several
strokes) and I still find it easy to understand the logical system
behind it.

In understanding how it works you will find out how asymmetric
cryptography works (at least in GPG), but if you were to ask the
average person in the street, "What does "asymmetric cryptography" mean
to you?", you would get the kind of answer that I think would be
duplicated in London, Manchester and New York!

- -- 

Graham Todd
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