This one is from 1965 (i.e. it was classified for 60 years!) [PDF warning].
It's the output from a computer program (from 1965!) that takes an encrypted cypher stream and performs tricks of the trade like frequency analysis of each character and other statistical analysis. The test was for the cryptanalyst to use this to identify which language was being enciphered. Essentially, it was a training class for Secret Squirrels.
Pretty cool in a very crypto geeky way. It took me back to some training I had as a larval engineer as the class of new hires waited for their clearances to be approved. I wasn't great at it (I was an electrical engineer, not a linguist). The Queen Of The World eats this sort (cryptograms in the newspaper) of stuff for breakfast.
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2 comments:
Rock Island Arsenal was looking for the first computer programmers. The machines took an entire floor and were ice cold. Requirements were many but you had to be a college graduate. Mother protested (high school graduate) and they allowed her to take the test. She was one of 6 who passed the test. She was writing code in 1962. Who know if that was one of hers.
Interesting... :-)
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