Gutmann Soundwave Therapy

[Richard Salz]

> The wider point of Peter's writeup -- and of the therapy -- is that 
> developers working on security tools should _know_ they're working in 
> a notoriously, infamously hard field where the odds are 
> _overwhelmingly_ against them if they choose to engineer new solutions.

Developers working in almost any field should know the history and best 
practices -- is PGP's original "bass o matic" any more important than the 
code in a defibrillator? -- but this is not the way our field works right 
now.  Compare it to something like civil engineering or architecture.

Until we get to that point -- and we may never got there, nor want to -- 
it is probably better to act as mentors than, say, pricks. :)  I thought 
Peter's soundwave idea was kinda funny, and hopefully lessened the sting. 
Guus's note should recommended reading on a regular basis.

If we want to spread the use of crypto, perhaps we should be nicer to 
those who are also trying to do the same thing albeit poorly.

        /r$

--
STSM, DataPower Chief Programmer
WebSphere DataPower SOA Appliances
http://www.ibm.com/software/integration/datapower/

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