Cryptography Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 6
Basic Mimicry
6.1 Reading between the Lines
Here is the transcript from the mind of a cynic reading through the
personals section of a newspaper:
SF ISO SM. Old-fashioned romantic wants same for
walks in rain, trips to Spain and riding on
planes. Send picture and dating strategy.
Great. Eliza Doolittle. Literally. I come up with a dating strategy
and she does little but ride along. This is not a good sign. She's proba-
bly a princess working as a executive assistant who wants to be rescued
and catapulted into the upper class. Rules me out. I'm not going to
work my butt off so she can relax in Spain trying to pronounce words
differently. What's so romantic about Spain, anyway? She's proba-
bly read Hemingway too and I'll be forced to run in front of a bunch
of bulls just so she'll think I'm dashing in an old-fashioned way. No
thanks. I'll take a new-fashioned Range Rover like they drive around
Africa. Those things can't be toppled by a bunch of bulls. And if it's
raining, I won't get wet or slip all over the place. Geez.
SF ISO SM. Dancing. Wine.
Night.
Sky.
Moon.
Romancing. Dine.
Write by June.
Great. Poetry. She'll expect me to reciprocate. I just won't be able to
say, “Yeah, let's grab a burger tonight.” Nope. I'll have to get some
watercolors and paint a letter to her. In some ancient verse form.
Rhyming really is the sign of an overactive mind. Who really cares if
two words in different parts of a paragraph happen to end with the
