Being a weblog devoted to a variety of topics. Including Mathematics. And Mathematical Finance. Sometimes with homework.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

The Enigma Machine

This is sort of old news, but I just dug far enough into my inbox to see it again. The May 30 "The Mathematical Tourist" article on the MAA website is about the Enigma Machine. I think the Enigma Machine is absolutely fascinating. In addition to having the most intriguing name of any technological innovation, the story of it's use in WWII and the allies breaking of the code is more exciting than real history has any right to be. Okay, a bit of hyperbole, but still.

The article linked has a number of links to other interesting and informative sites. I do take exception to the authors comments about Cryptonomicon. Cryptonomicon is not so much a story about the Enigma machine as it is a story about... well it's hard to explain, but the Enigma Machine features prominently. I highly recommend it. I've never read Enigma by Robert Harris, so I can't comment about that.

The Code Book by Simon Singh also has an outstanding chapter on the Enigma Machine.

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