[TML] Molding Ships

[Timothy Little]

On Thu, Oct 04, 2007 at 09:38:31AM -0400, Charles Prevatte wrote:
> More like 1000's yes, sorry, I had assumed that would be a given.  A
> modern PC would be more powerfull than all the "computers" that
> existed in WW2.  It would chew through egnima in a hour or so.  All
> posible setting!

An interesting other effect is that we now have vastly more advanced
cryptography in other respects.  For example, asymmetric ciphers make
key exchange vastly easier and their computation can be done with
primitive equipment.  Even in symmetric ciphers, we have strong ones
that can literally be carried out with pencil and paper in reasonable
time and yet not broken in years even focussing our comparatively
enormous computational abilities.

The advancement of cryptographic theory has in many ways been more
important than the increase in raw computational power.  In a
Traveller-like setting, it should not be assumed that technologically
backward societies would also be ignorant of theoretical developments.
I don't think you'd be breaking Enigma-strength systems on a Traveller
world of any TL.  Even a bronze-age culture could have understood and
implemented some of our currently strong systems.


- Tim