Schneier on Security

Clive Robinson • February 7, 2023 4:21 PM

@ Ted,

“I’m going to have to ask someone with kids if kids really are natural hackers.”

When young yes, very much so ask any parent a toddler has learnt to manipulate 😉

But more seriously as far as I can tell realy only four things are required,

1, Curiosity.
2, Inteligence.
3, A form of associative memory.
4, Constructive creativity.

We learn by recognising then applying patterns and distilling out the essential basics that form the foundations. Over and above that we don’t realy know but there are a lot of observation based hypothesis out there that boil down to three basic higher intelligence models,

1, those that see in words.
2, those that see in graphs/pictures
3, those that see in equations.

Make of that what you will, but my personal observation is that an affinity for complex music both apriciation for the ten thumbed like myself and actual playing ability tends to go with higher order thinking needed for the likes of cryptography.

But there is still atleast “element X” the ability to see any system in a way that it’s 7F faults can be seen. Whilst some of it is definitely latent much of it is “time served” learnd like the abiliry to handle complex objects be they musical instruments or machine tools and similar of “getting it wrong till you get it right”.

But also “element Y” which is kind of an eye for beauty, symmetry and elegance.

These two elements appear to be the mainstay of “thinking hinky” along with a deep understanding of testing.

It has been said you learn nothing from a design that works, but everything from designs that fail and you get to work.

I’m a firm believer in people doing testing techniques, and I get them to show their abilities at testing rather than coding excercises and similar.