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The Science of Secrecy In this course we will study the mathematics of cryptology as we look at the most famous methods of encryption dating back two thousand years to the age of Caesar right up through high-tech applications for securing communication on the internet. Students will have opportunities to make and break many of the codes we study. We will discuss dramatic historical events in which cryptography played a key role, including the breaking of the German Enigma code in World War II. Along the way we will see how methods of cryptanalysis were used to interpret Egyptian hieroglyphics, and we will study unusual methods of encryption, such as the use of the Navajo language during World War II. We will also consider First Amendment issues raised by attempts to limit the use of the virtually unbreakable codes we have available to us today.
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