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From: drenze@umaxc.weeg.uiowa.edu (Douglas Renze)
Newsgroups: comp.compression
Subject: Re: Please take the recreational math articles elsewhere
Message-ID: <5351@ns-mx.uiowa.edu>
Date: 7 Apr 91 04:37:03 GMT
References: <1991Apr4.150053.29873@linus.mitre.org> <1991Apr5.064220.18509@dde.dk> 
 <1991Apr6.080615.23197@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> <28185:Apr700:26:0491@kramden.acf.nyu.edu> <1991Apr7.020617.12261@nntp-server.caltech.edu>
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In article <1991Apr7.020617.12261@nntp-server.caltech.edu> toddpw@nntp-server.caltech.edu (Todd P. Whitesel) writes:
>Has anybody tried developing a compression or encryption scheme that uses the
>digits or bits of an irrational number as a key or pseudorandom generator?

Interesting question.  I did something along these lines in encryption about a
year ago, although I was only experimenting with the encryption of text files
(I'm somewhat of an amateur cryptographer).  The application of this to binary
files had never occured to me.  In fact, it seems to me, though, that any en-
cryption scheme which relies on the generation of pseudorandom numbers from a
given "seed" could be adapted to fit this requirement by simply substituting the
digit from the irrational number for the pseudorandom number.  It would also
seem to me that there shouldn't be any appreciable loss of security, especially
if multiple encryption passes were run.

Anybody care to prove me wrong?  This is only a hobby for me and I know very
little about binary encryption, so if somebody can teach me a lesson, I'd be
much obliged.

BTW, for the benefit of the thought police, it seems to me that in the field
of computers, there is an intimate relationship between data compression and
data encryption.  Therefore it would seem to me that some crossover in this
newsgroup is both expected and acceptable.  Just my $0.02 worth.

Peace and Long Life,

Doug
	internet:  drenze@umaxc.weeg.uiowa.edu
	  delphi:  drenze

"I don't care if you tell me I'm wrong, but tell me *why* I'm wrong!"