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Schneier Mulls Psychology of Security

bednarz writes "Cryptography expert Bruce Schneier says security decisions often are much less rational than one would prefer. He spoke at the RSA conference about the battle that goes on in the brain when responding to security issues. Schneier explains 'The primitive portion of the brain, called the amygdala, feels fear and incites a fear-or-flight response, he pointed out. "It's very fast, faster than consciousness. But it can be overridden by higher parts of the brain." The neocortex, which in a mammalian brain is associated with consciousness, is slower but "adaptive and flexible,"'"

2 of 101 comments (clear)

  1. Karl Rove knows by Conanymous+Award · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    A feeling of security is created by
    -locking turrrrrsts (or people who just might be ones) into secret prisons and off-shore camps for an indefinite time
    -wiretapping you
    -taking away your basic civil rights
    -manipulating the media
    -bombing country X
    -creating a color indicator for turrrrrr threat levels (to make you feel extra secure, they can flash orange every now and then)
    -ridiculous airport safety checks ("those paper scissors are a big no-no, but the knife we give you onboard is completely safe!")
    -reminding you how unsafe you'd be without all of this.

    Burn karma, burn...

  2. Re:Just look to government.... by monkeydo · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Yes, just like the dinosaurs and every other living species that has lived or will live on the earth, humans will one day be extinct. I find it ironic that the same camp that refuses to see anything unique or sacred in human life is now whinnying about our eventual extinction. Come on, we're just masses of cells, masses of cells die!

    Some have even suggested that run-away global warming caused Venus to become the hell-hole it is today.

    How did humans get to Venus to cause all that global warming?

    --
    Si vis pacem, para bellum
    The only thing more annoying than a Libertarian is an (un|mis)informed Libertarian