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I can think of several people who fit firmly into both. Moxie, for instance. I fail to see how these two categories are mutually exclusive.
by vox_mollis 10y ago
I can think of several people who fit firmly into both. Moxie, for instance. I fail to see how these two categories are mutually exclusive.
- tptacek 10y agoHold on. The definition of my #1 category isn't a belief in good and evil; it's the idea that their primary function in the field is to save the world, not to perfect security engineering. Looking at Moxie's work, I don't think anyone can legitimately accuse him of not taking engineering seriously.
- vox_mollis 10y agoI understand that, but it's reasonable to suspect that for a significant number of #2s, #1 is the initial motivating factor that got them learning. We see this all the time in software development, where excellent engineers are borne of trying to build a video game at age x, where x is a relatively low number. Similarly, there's no reason that someone initially motivated to eradicate "evil" can't become a great security mind, and I suspect Moxie and many like him are of this ilk.
- tptacek 10y agoAgain: you're rebutting me as if my argument was that anyone who believed in "good" and "evil" was a #1. That's not my definition of a #1.