Queen Elizabeth Sets a Code-Breaking Challenge
mikejuk writes "Queen Elizabeth II has made her first ever visit to Bletchley Park, the home of the UK's World War II code-breaking efforts and now a museum. To mark the occasion, the Queen has issued a code cracking challenge of her own — 'the Agent X Code Book Challenge' — aimed at getting children interested in cryptography. Perhaps a royal programming or general technology challenge is next."
Awww, no HTML5 version for the flashless? I'm missing out...
Everyone knows that the Royal Family has close links to Torchwood. Perhaps this is a recruitment drive. (count me out, I'll be buggered if I work with Captain Jack)
All I got was:
"Hellooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"
when I translated the answer.
Bletchley Park appears to be safe for now. Here are some previous Slashdot headlines:
2011
Queen Elizabeth Sets a Code-Breaking Challenge
Tunny Code-Breaker Rebuilt At Bletchley Park
Campaign Saves Unique Turing Archive
EDSAC Computer To Be Rebuilt
2010
Fight Begins To Secure Turing Papers For Bletchley Park Museum
'Retro Programming' Teaches Using 1980s Machines
UK Gov't Spending Details Now Online
2009
Bletchley Park WWII Staff Finally Recognized
No Museum Status For UK Home of Enigma Machine
Old Computers Resurrected As Instruments At Bletchley Park
2008
Cash Lifeline For Bletchley Park
PGP Leads Corporate Efforts To Save Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park Faces Financial Rescue
Bletchley Park Facing Financial Ruin
While I realize one cannot have every building associated with victory in WWII saved, it is nice to see recognition of the intellectual side of it. Are there more dedicated sites of this kind around the world?
the first line of "The Tragedy of King Lear"?
Apparently the operations at Bletchley were so secret that during the war Princess Elizabeth (as she then was) didn't even know they existed.
She was probably considered a security risk due to all those German relatives.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Basically it's a two-bit finite state machine and a pair of lookup tables.
"Can you list all the 16 countries of which her majesty is the queen?"
Slashdot monitor for your Mozilla sidebar or Active Desktop.
Not to take away from it, as I think it's a nice way of raising the profile of Bletchley Park among young mathematicians, but it's decoding as you're given the code-book.
How lovely. Has she paid her respects to Alan Turing yet?
Umm yes. In the linked video.
In the middle of the recent fallout from the discovery of the abuses that happened during the credit bubble years (banker bonuses, press abuses, police corruption, cozy relations between politicians and the press), the Royal Household seems to be one of the few institutions that's coming out as squeaky clean.
So with a bit of luck, actions by the Queen might have a little more impact in public opinion than they would during the "time-of-excesses".
So even though I'm neither a royalist nor a british citizen, I welcome and applaud anything that might portray to kids the notion that technology is cool - they've been too long enthralled by dreams of being footballers or TV celebrities.
erratically for a minute or two, then you'd wander off?
Except, in true American film style, it takes extreme liberties with the facts. It wasn't even filmed at Bletchley Park either - which was criminal IMO (supposedly Bletchley Park didn't look enough like Bletchley Park so they used Chicheley Hall instead).
Same monarchy (though basically puppets now), but definitely not the same Government.
Some of the scenes were shot at the Royal Gunpowder Mills in Waltham Abbey, which during the war was actually used for the production of RDX (used in bouncing bombs).
It became EDRE Waltham Abbey and then PERME Waltham Abbey after the war. Final stage its life it became RARDE Waltham Abbey in 1984, until it closed in 1991. The site was actually in use for over 300 for the production of explosives or research in to them.
Yeah, I had a sig once; I got bored of it.
It was the government. The monarchy had nothing to do with it.
I had the pleasure of meeting HRH the Duke of Edinburgh at an event once and, upon hearing that I worked in cryptography, he told me about his time working signals in the British navy during the second world war. He said he had always been fascinated by the operation of the British TypeX equipment that he used back then. I don't suppose that he did any code breaking but he certainly was using codes well before the Cypherpunks came along.
If intelligent life is too complex to evolve on its own, who designed God?
try not to fall for old, ugly, divorced chicks.
Or not to show too much enthusiasm for the Nazis
Except, in true American film style, it takes extreme liberties with the facts. It wasn't even filmed at Bletchley Park either - which was criminal IMO (supposedly Bletchley Park didn't look enough like Bletchley Park so they used Chicheley Hall instead).
Secret identity?
The Royal Cryptographer.
I'd apply for it, just for the title.
(Also would have been a good name for a book by William Gibson in the 90s)
I wonder if the Fox News/Wall Street Journal/News of the World empire will participate in the code-breaking contest?
They appear qualified.
You are welcome on my lawn.
There are *children* who pay attention to what the *Queen* has to say?
How depressing.
http://xkcd.com/859/
Post the missing ')' and hopefully I'll be able to sleep tonight.
That's what she said.
Check out my lame java blog at www.javachopshop.com
These days nobody cares what the Queen does. They do, however, notice when Kate is wearing a new dress.
...is what she carries in that purse!
And you obviously didn't read the post I was replying to :)
"Move On."
Well anyone whow atched series 4 of Chuck know Agent X is Hartley Winterbottom/Alexei Volkoff. Code cracked :P
"It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times?!" You stupid monkey!
The next challenge from the Queen will be "Stop posting on slashdot and get back to work!"
How many do really assoicate particular music with porn, at all?
Seriously?! Ask almost anyone to do stereotype "porn" music and they'll do something like Bow chicka wow wow or some similar representation.
Personally, I hardly ever watch porn with the sound up (as much because of the obvious and hence pointless and distracting dubbed soundtracks as any music), but I'm still aware of this.
They've even done Lynx/Axe deodorant commercials based around that trope. What rock have you been living under since... er, since you were born?!
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
I decoded the whole thing up to section 5 and realized that it was boring and I had real things to do today. Anyone decode the whole thing? Here's what I got so far:
Urgent message for you and your groups
Important event will take place
It will happen at the Bletchley Park Codes Breaking Centre
Bletchley Park was the birthplace of the modern computer
She mentions him by name, but that's about it.
...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.