So far I've seen three variants of the "he just doesn't understand" argument in comments, including the currently top rated comment, and the day is still young.

So far I've seen three variants of the "he just doesn't understand" argument in comments, including the currently top rated comment, and the day is still young. I bet there will be more, because it has become crypto advocates' favorite tactic to negate real argument. Unfortunately, it's an appeal to (false) authority. Why should anyone believe that the crypto advocate - even without considering the taint of self interest - knows more about the subject than someone like Nick Weaver or David Rosenthal who has a decades long record of actually solving closely related problems? At best, with only a few exceptions, the advocate is a relatively new programmer in a completely different specialty. Often they're not even technical at all. Where's this authority that's supposed to override rational arguments (even if those could be countered)? At least people like those I've named don't rely on authority and take the time to provide real discussion-worthy points as well. This is supposed to be a rational reality-based community. There should be zero tolerance for the "just doesn't understand" trope, especially when someone doesn't even identify (let alone explain) what it is that their target doesn't understand. It's blithe dismissal, not curious conversation, and at least nominally (according to the guidelines) not what the site is supposed to be about.