Fwd: [IP] WORTH READING Shawn Wylie, Bletchley Park

[R.A. Hettinga]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: David Farber <dave at farber.net>
> Date: November 2, 2009 7:24:34 AM GMT-04:00
> To: "ip" <ip at v2.listbox.com>
> Subject: [IP] WORTH READING   Shawn Wylie, Bletchley Park
>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Doug Humphrey <doug at joss.com>
> Date: November 1, 2009 9:17:13 PM EST
> To: dave at farber.net
> Cc: "ip" <ip at v2.listbox.com>
> Subject: Re: [IP] Shawn Wylie, Bletchley Park
>
> for IP
>
> On this general topic, a story.
>
> On one of my first companies (Digex) we used a law firm in DC
> and one of the lawyers we used there (I will not use names
> here - not important) had a mother who was at Bletchley Park,
> and the NSA Crypto Museum was relatively new, and very much
> "undiscovered" and of course had an Enigma that you could (and
> still can) touch and key - so we thought it would be great fun to
> have her up for a visit when she was in town.  She loved the idea,
> I was told (having not at that point spoken directly with her)
>
> Once she was there, and saw it there, in the open, where anyone
> could see it, she felt sick and disoriented and one of the docents
> got her into a little conference room there and got her some water
> and things returned to normal - she waited outside for everyone to
> finish their (somewhat truncated) tour and they headed back to DC.
>
> she said that she just could not reconcile it being there where anyone
> could see it and know about it - so much was it drummed into them
> that this was Most Secret, the ultimate secret, the holy of holies,  
> and
> never ever ever to be spoken of.
>
> They were, quite possibly, saving the planet; and this was the secret,
> and they were the keepers.  In this day of bragging in order to get  
> ones
> 15 minutes of fame and fortune, we should feel fortunate that there
> were (and hopefully still are) those who can keep their secrets.
>
> (oh, and Hi David ;-)
>
> doug
>
>
>
>
>
> On Nov 1, 2009, at 8:50 PM, David Farber wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>> From: "David Lesher" <wb8foz at panix.com>
>> Date: November 1, 2009 8:20:37 PM EST
>> To: dave at farber.net (David Farber)
>> Subject: Shawn Wylie, Bletchley Park
>>
>>
>> <http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/oct/27/shaun-wylie- 
>> obituary>
>>
>>
>> "Except for Turing, no one made a bigger contribution to the  
>> success of
>> Hut 8 than Wylie; he was easily the best all-rounder in the section,
>> astonishingly quick and resourceful."
>>
>> The secrecy surrounding the code-breaking at Bletchley Park during  
>> the
>> second world war was such that, when restrictions were lifted and the
>> importance of the work became widely known decades later, many of  
>> those
>> involved were rather put out by attempts from journalists and  
>> historians
>> to pierce their silence. The mathematician and cryptanalyst Shaun  
>> Wylie,
>> who has died aged 96, became a reluctant celebrity with his insider's
>> perspective on Station X's achievements.
>>
>> .....
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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