[...Interesting discussion of logarithms deleted...] The discrete logs used in crypto have very different mathematical properties than regular logarithms, but I thought this bit of history would spark some memories in old-timers and give a new perspective for younger people. Hal As an apparent old-timer (calculators weren't common until my college days, which puts me a couple of years before you, I guess) I enjoyed the retrospective, and I even recall the joke that goes with the punchline you quoted. It's amazing to realize that only a few years ago, we were calculating orbital trajectories using logarithms by lining up marks on little sticks of wood! I have to admit, though, that I was a little disappointed after your opening paragraph, because what I was really hoping to hear was a straightforward explanation of discrete logs, which, as you say, are entirely different. A simple layman's explanation of what they are and how they're useful in crypto would be nice, especially since PGP is moving toward this (just when I was beginning to get a handle on RSA!). Now that I have an interest in all this, I wish Rich Schroeppel still worked here (he worked at Inference when I started here in '88, and has since done a lot of pioneering work on discrete logs). Me, I'm still trying to figure out what sort of seed is best to plant in a Galois field... Tunny ====================================================================== James A. 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