I don't think anyone wants to discourage people from learning about, playing with, and trying to invent new crypto. The usual problem here is that people new t

I don't think anyone wants to discourage people from learning about, playing with, and trying to invent new crypto. The usual problem here is that people new to crypto frequently don't treat their whizzy new supercool algorithm as a toy that has almost certainly been done, cracked, improved, cracked and eventually abandoned. For whatever reason, it is entirely too easy for people new to crypto to convince themselves they've made a really cool discovery. There's even a cliche for this: "Anyone can create an crypto algorithm that they themselves cannot crack." Absolutely, learn, play, and try to make something great. But keep perspective. You wouldn't invite your loved ones to be the first to test your first attempt at a home-brew parachute; similarly, don't use your home-brew crypto to protect important things.