# data[].attributes.headline
"His musings on the imaginary Turing machines were intended to answer esoteric questions about mathematical undecidability, but this purely academic research had put him in the right frame of mind for designing a practical machine capable of solving very real problems" (174).

# data[].attributes.subject
"His musings on the imaginary Turing machines were intended to answer esoteric questions about mathematical undecidability, but this purely academic research had put him in the right frame of mind for designing a practical machine capable of solving very real problems" (174).

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esoteric - (adj.) intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest

This book is written in such an esoteric manner as only the smartest kid in our class can understand it.

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"Back in Berlin... an investigation... exploring the possibility that the British had broken Enigma... concluded that numerous losses were... the result of natural misfortune, or... a British spy... The breaking of Enigma was considered impossible and inconceivable" (185).

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"Back in Berlin... an investigation... exploring the possibility that the British had broken Enigma... concluded that numerous losses were... the result of natural misfortune, or... a British spy... The breaking of Enigma was considered impossible and inconceivable" (185).

# data[].attributes.body
This quote demonstrates the foolishness of the German's during the Second World War. It also shows the costs of overconfidence. Had German officials been more careful, or skeptical, the outcome of the war may have been completely different. The ability of the Allies to know troop placement and other valuable information played a massive role in deciding the course of the war. As the book mentions earlier, information/intelligence truly is one of the most important things, and it must be kept secret.

# data[].attributes.body
October 28, 2016

# data[].attributes.headline
"Similarly, it was fear and adversity that galvanized French cryptanalysis at the end of the nineteenth century, faced with the increasing might of Germany" (143).

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"Similarly, it was fear and adversity that galvanized French cryptanalysis at the end of the nineteenth century, faced with the increasing might of Germany" (143).

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galvanize - (verb) shock or excite, typically into taking action

Upon realizing he had a C in the class, Andrew was galvanized into trying harder.

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"[The] onetime pad cipher is not merely believed to be unbreakable, just as the Vigenère cipher was in the nineteenth century, it really is absolutely secure. The onetime pad offers a guarantee of secrecy: the Holy Grail of cryptography" (122).

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"[The] onetime pad cipher is not merely believed to be unbreakable, just as the Vigenère cipher was in the nineteenth century, it really is absolutely secure. The onetime pad offers a guarantee of secrecy: the Holy Grail of cryptography" (122).

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This quote explains the ultimate cipher in terms of security: the onetime pad cipher. In the cipher, the key is a series of random letters that is the same length as the message itself. This means that a codebreaker would have to test every possible key to find the message. In a given message of n letters, there are 26^n possible keys to check. This increases at a very fast rate. For example, a key the same length as the simple sentence: "hello my name is andrew" would have 26^19, or approx. 7.66e26, possibilities. As the author points out later in the text, this amount of possibilities is impossible to test even with our modern technology. The author further highlights the fact that, if every key was tested, every possibility of a message would also be revealed, making it impossible to tell which ones are correct. Because of the security it offers, this "Holy Grail" of cryptography is used for some of the most important communications such as the hotline between the US and Russian presidents.

# data[].attributes.body
October 21, 2016

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"Marconi's invention tantalized the military, who viewed it with a mixture of desire and trepidation" (102).

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"Marconi's invention tantalized the military, who viewed it with a mixture of desire and trepidation" (102).

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trepidation - (noun) a feeling of fear or agitation about something that may happen

As Dan set off on his 3:00AM hike, he felt a sense of trepidation.

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"'Nothing should be as favorably regarded as intelligence; nothing should be as generously rewarded as intelligence; nothing should be as confidential as the work of intelligence'" (106).

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"'Nothing should be as favorably regarded as intelligence; nothing should be as generously rewarded as intelligence; nothing should be as confidential as the work of intelligence'" (106).

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This is a quote of Sun-Tzu, the author of the Art of War. The author of the The Code Book has chosen to include this quote to explain the basis for the philosophies of the French going into the 20th century. By the time of World War I, the French had "industrialized" the process of cryptography because of the attitude reflected in the quote: "nothing should be as confidential as the work of intelligence." The author continues to give real-life examples of how important this principle is. He tells a story about the Germans who did not invest in cryptography at the time. Because of this apathetic attitude towards cryptography, the French had an upper hand during World War I. The disregard of cryptography by countries will prove to be a costly decision throughout history.

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October 14, 2016

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"'Propose to an Englishman any principle, or any instrument, however admirable, and you will observe that the whole effort of the English mind is directed to find a difficulty, a defect, or an impossibility in it'" (64).

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"'Propose to an Englishman any principle, or any instrument, however admirable, and you will observe that the whole effort of the English mind is directed to find a difficulty, a defect, or an impossibility in it'" (64).

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This is a quote of Charles Babbage, "the eccentric British genius" who developed a blueprint for the modern computer and broke the Vigenere cipher. In it, he is responding to the British government's defunding of his project to create a very accurate calculator, after Babbage abandoned his first iteration. Although Babbage is specifically referring to the logic of the English, he touches upon a much more general "human" idea: the constant state of dissatisfaction. This is still very prevalent in today's society, and is a reason that society/technology is always evolving. In a sense, the quote is ironic because Babbage himself abandoned his first machine after "ten years of toil" (presumably) because he was dissatisfied.

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"As well as preventing the operators from seeing sensitive material, encryption also stymied the efforts of any spy who might be tapping the telegraph wire" (62).

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"As well as preventing the operators from seeing sensitive material, encryption also stymied the efforts of any spy who might be tapping the telegraph wire" (62).

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stymie - (verb) prevent or hinder the progress of

The implementation of this new bill that restricts free trade and taxes the middle class will stymie the economy's growth.

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October 07, 2016

# data[].attributes.headline
"He was a Machiavellian figure, a spymaster who was responsible for the security of the monarch" (39).

# data[].attributes.subject
"He was a Machiavellian figure, a spymaster who was responsible for the security of the monarch" (39).

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Machiavellian - (adj.) cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous, especially in politics or in advancing one's career

Alex was a Machiavellian student, always planning how to get ahead of his classmates.

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"The correct use of a strong cipher is a clear boon to sender and receiver, but the misuse of a weak cipher can generate a very false sense of security" (42).

# data[].attributes.subject
"The correct use of a strong cipher is a clear boon to sender and receiver, but the misuse of a weak cipher can generate a very false sense of security" (42).

# data[].attributes.body
This quote describes the fault of Mary Queen of Scots and Babington (a supporter of Mary) who used a weak cipher that they believed was unbreakable. This quote explains that you must always be careful with how you use your ciphers/codes, and never fall into the trap of believing it is 100% secure. Although a cipher or code may seem insuperable, the potential of it being broken could completely compromise the security of the users. Because of this, it is imperative that the users still communicate discreetly.

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September 30, 2016

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My name is Andrew Gao. I am interested in things involving math and science, as well as a little bit of history. In 2013, I went to a summer camp called CTY (at Skidmore College) and took the cryptography course offered there. I had to purchase this book (The Code Book by Simon Singh) for the course, but we never read it completely. I've always wanted to read it from beginning to end as it offers a blend of history and math.

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"Cryptanalysis could not be invented until a civilization had reached a sufficiently sophisticated level of scholarship in several disciplines, including mathematics, statistics and linguistics" (15).

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"Cryptanalysis could not be invented until a civilization had reached a sufficiently sophisticated level of scholarship in several disciplines, including mathematics, statistics and linguistics" (15).

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This quote demonstrates the advanced nature of cryptanalysis, or the "science of unscrambling a message without knowledge of the key". The author is trying to convey the idea that the existence of cryptanalysis within a society is a good indicator of a progressive society (such as our society today) as it requires mastery of many fields.

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"Mary's first few years in the French court would be the most idyllic time of her life" (33).

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"Mary's first few years in the French court would be the most idyllic time of her life" (33).

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idyllic - (adj.) (esp. of a time/place) extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque

My time on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail was idyllic, with beautiful views and wonderful people.

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September 23, 2016

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Total: 350 pages

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