> from a historical perspective That is the only perspective I'm addressing. The comment is in the context of the observation tht we have a generation fo peopl

> from a historical perspective That is the only perspective I'm addressing. The comment is in the context of the observation tht we have a generation fo people who don't know there was a "Crypto War" in the 90s. This observation was prescient, with the FBI et al renewing the crypto wars. The historical view is incredibly important in interpreting our current situation. > call to read specific works If you think my reference to Shannon is a call to read any specific work, you're missing the point. The point of the original article and the talk I linked to is the importance of actually taking the time to learn from the people that faced these problems in the past nd learning from them. > Coming up with brilliant theories and insights is a different skill Absolutely, which is why it's important to not waste that skill re-inventing stuff where that time and effort has already been spent by other skilled people. I suggesting that it's a bad idea to spend six months in the laboratory to save you from having to spend six days in the library. A lot of problem have already been solved.