[Noisebridge-discuss] Why do so many crackpots go for "crypto"?

[Christie Dudley]

Yes, they just released a TED talk on this very thing.  Apparently, the
problem is dopamine and what it's doing floating around there in your brain:

http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_shermer_the_pattern_behind_self_deception.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2010-06-15&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email

<http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_shermer_the_pattern_behind_self_deception.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2010-06-15&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email>
Christie
_______
"Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The
latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to
hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence."
-- Albert Einstein


On Tue, Jun 15, 2010 at 2:33 PM, Jesse Zbikowski <embeddedlinuxguy at gmail.com
> wrote:

> This is an interesting question. I believe there is a cognitive defect
> which causes people to become obsessed with the idea that they have an
> arcane power to understand mysterious sequences of symbols and
> numbers. I have long suspected this would explain why otherwise
> rational geeks such as Isaac Newton become entranced by numerology.
> Probably the same neural structures which enable works of mathematical
> genius can get derailed and create things like The Chronology of
> Ancient Kingdoms. Moreover, the kind of mathematics involved in
> elementary cryptography, i.e. relationships between small integers, is
> fun and easy to conceptualize, so I expect you get more number theory
> cranks than e.g. real analysis cranks.
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