Whitfield Diffie

ambition achieve

"If you have ambition, you might not achieve anything, but without ambition, you are almost certain not to achieve anything."

—Whitfield Diffie

cryptography trust people encrypt file

"I thought cryptography was a technique that did not require your trusting other people-that if you encrypted your files, you would have the control to make the choice as to whether you would surrender your files."

—Whitfield Diffie

strong encryption spy

"Without strong encryption, you will be spied on systematically by lots of people."

—Whitfield Diffie

strong security reliance secrets

"The secret to strong security: less reliance on secrets."

—Whitfield Diffie

intellectual work self-importance

"One of the things that characterizes good intellectual work is a certain self-importance"

—Whitfield Diffie

politics intellectual work inseparable

"I have always believed the thesis that one's politics and the character of one's intellectual work are inseparable."

—Whitfield Diffie

science spoiled success mathematics simple solutions

"We in science are spoiled by the success of mathematics. Mathematics is the study of problems so simple that they have good solutions"

—Whitfield Diffie

two people problem better one

"Two people can work on a problem better than one"

—Whitfield Diffie