SCIENCE WEEK IRELAND:WORDS HAVE been encoded for as long as we have had writing. But having code makers means that there will always be code breakers, according to Simon Singh.
The highly-successful author of Fermat's Last Theoremand more recently, Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trialwas at University College Dublin yesterday to deliver a lecture on the long history of code making. The highly-entertaining talk was organised by the Claude Shannon Institute as part of its outreach programme and was its contribution to Science Week Ireland.
"Ever since people invented the written word they have been encoding it," he said. It also seems a natural part of what we do. "Our minds love to find patterns and love to find hidden meaning."
Yet what is hidden is immediately sought by those denied it. "Over the centuries there has been a battle between the code makers and code breakers."
His book on the subject, The Code Bookincluded a public challenge, to reveal a set of 10 messages encoded by Dr Singh, with the winner receiving a £10,000 (€12,400) cash prize. Each message used a different encryption method, showing how efforts to conceal information have developed over the centuries.
The simplest method, dating back to the beginnings of writing, involved a simple substitution, replacing one letter for another.
Mary Queen of Scots attempted to use this coding method to promote sedition. Queen Elizabeth I's "spymasters" cracked the code and Mary was beheaded for her efforts. "Pivotal moments in history can be affected by codes," Dr Singh said.
He described Nazi Germany's Enigma coding machine as "a huge leap forward in complexity and sophistication". Yet it too was cracked by code breakers whose achievement was then ignored for decades after the war.
Dr Singh's 10 coding challenges were also defeated, with some falling within hours, while the last resisted the breakers for 11 months. It was based on the currently most widely-used coding system known as RSA.
He acknowledged that it might have been solved sooner were it not for a mistake he had made when initially encoding the message. This confused code breakers until a Swedish group realised the error, decoded the 10th message and explained Dr Singh's error afterwards.
WHAT'S ON
TODAY
Why your pet can never know you: free public lecture, NUI Maynooth, Hume Building, Theatre seven, 7.30pm.
Hands on Maths Roadshow, primary pupils' workshop, Galway Education Centre, Cluain Mhuire, Wellpark, Galway, today and tomorrow, 9.30, 10.45 and noon. Free, but book: contact Richie Byrne on 091-745602.
Environmental Protection Agency Research Seminar 2008, meeting for third-level researchers, today and tomorrow, Hilton Hotel, Kilmainham, Dublin 8. Contact Dr Brian Donlon for further details on 021-4860831.
TOMORROW
Anyone4Science-Bright Sparks, presentation, primary level, Lucan Library, Superquinn shopping centre, Lucan, Co Dublin. Free, but pre-book: phone 01 6216422.
Chemistry Magic Show, family event, University College Cork, Room G19, Kane Building, 7.30pm. Free, but pre-book: contact Christine Dennehy on 021-4902379.
Birds of Ireland, free public lecture, Institute of Technology Sligo, Room A0005, 8pm.
