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No. I'm only saying that if your goal is to prevent the NSA from working against you then this isn't the way to prevent that. People seem to be a bit upset that

by theboss 13y ago

No. I'm only saying that if your goal is to prevent the NSA from working against you then this isn't the way to prevent that. People seem to be a bit upset that I think so also. If there are whole countries that are angry and the US Govt doesn't care then why would they care when a subset of a subset of their possible employees are mad.

jlgreco 13y ago
> "I'm only saying that if your goal is to prevent the NSA from working against you then this isn't the way to prevent that" We shouldn't be looking for "the way". We should be looking for "ways" This is something that mathematicians can do (and I would say CS people as well). This action is not meant to exclude other action. Programmers can also work on systems that are more difficult to subvert, companies can find new ways to not collect personal information in the first place, the general population can call for reform and ultimately trials for the guilty parties, individuals in trusted positions can leak details and/or engage in sabotage... Every potential avenue for change should be explored. In parallel. Deeply.
betterunix 13y ago
Raising the social cost of working for the NSA means raising the difficulty the NSA faces in attracting talented employees. Already the NSA has to convince mathematicians and computer scientists to give up certain career paths when they begin work for the NSA. That alone makes it difficult for the NSA to attract talent. So adding a social cost to working for the NSA would make it that much harder. A grad student considering a career with the NSA should be forced to consider the possibility that their adviser and their friends might not be willing to even talk to them as a result. It may not seem like much, but every time a talented researcher chooses to work for the public instead for the NSA, the public wins a small victory.
jacalata 13y ago
You might ask, why should the NSA worry if the common attitude to whistleblowing/leaking/being the next Edward Snowden among their possible employees is 'yea, I'd do that, partly because I know that most of my peers would approve of me for it'?

by theboss 13y ago

jlgreco 13y ago

> "I'm only saying that if your goal is to prevent the NSA from working against you then this isn't the way to prevent that" We shouldn't be looking for "the way". We should be looking for "ways" This is something that mathematicians can do (and I would say CS people as well). This action is not meant to exclude other action. Programmers can also work on systems that are more difficult to subvert, companies can find new ways to not collect personal information in the first place, the general population can call for reform and ultimately trials for the guilty parties, individuals in trusted positions can leak details and/or engage in sabotage... Every potential avenue for change should be explored. In parallel. Deeply.

betterunix 13y ago

Raising the social cost of working for the NSA means raising the difficulty the NSA faces in attracting talented employees. Already the NSA has to convince mathematicians and computer scientists to give up certain career paths when they begin work for the NSA. That alone makes it difficult for the NSA to attract talent. So adding a social cost to working for the NSA would make it that much harder. A grad student considering a career with the NSA should be forced to consider the possibility that their adviser and their friends might not be willing to even talk to them as a result. It may not seem like much, but every time a talented researcher chooses to work for the public instead for the NSA, the public wins a small victory.

jacalata 13y ago

You might ask, why should the NSA worry if the common attitude to whistleblowing/leaking/being the next Edward Snowden among their possible employees is 'yea, I'd do that, partly because I know that most of my peers would approve of me for it'?