Encryption and Uncertainty...

Two tidbits I encountered in the last 24 hours that I found interesting, and so am passing along (perhaps, in some odd way, there's even a tiny thread of linkage between the two!??):

1)  RSA encryption researchers make "an astonishing find" (essentially that encryption keys aren't nearly as random as one might expect):
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2897772/researchers-find-same-rsa-encryption-key-used-28000-times.html

and,

2)  Ed Frenkel advocating the importance of human uncertainty in science (I couldn't agree more) -- even scientists who acknowledge uncertainty, nonetheless often fall into the trap of assuming certainty about specific matters. The epistemological nature of uncertainty is difficult to internalize (I think) because we must operate in our daily lives as if we are certain of a great many things... but this ought not detract from the importance of recognizing uncertainty in a scientific perspective... anyway, read Ed and the Facebook discussion that follows (be sure to click on "See More" to expand Ed's full initial response):

http://tinyurl.com/ljam3lm

p.s.  -- the Lawrence Krauss New Yorker piece that is referenced (and inspired Ed's response) is here:
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/teaching-doubt?intcid=mod-latest