but, there is a basic level of competancy that must b assumed...the big O is a basic undergrad concept...same for the MOD function...if u hope to ever study a specialty field such as cryptology, u have 2 know the basics...
u should already know undergrad math if u r gonna look at crypto algorithms...
brad
By the same token, I might say that to communicate in a scholarly manner one must know how to spell and punctuate with marks other than ellipses. However, I will not. As has been pointed out, each of us learned the basic principles of math and cryptography somewhere. If we can, in the course of our discussions, bring others up to that level of understanding then we will have accomplished much. Certainly "big O notation" and the modulo operator are studied in undergrad computer science and mathematics. However, many of us have never studied these things. There are a number of high-school students on the list. There are people who have never had the oportunity to study technical subjects. IMHO, these people are all welcome on cypherpunks and have much to contribute. When I first joined the list, I was a self taught programmer and had never been taught the formalisms of "big O notation". We must not become a self-congratulatory elite.