Travelling Salesman Page #8

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Including the interface,

would allow a user

Limited access

to a single entity.

Of course.

It's like a military target.

You can't destroy everything,

just what's in the crosshairs.

It's more like a lock pick...

You can only pick

One lock at a time.

But to broaden it

to the scope you're talking

- Is simply absurd.

- No.

- Oh, no?

- This is almost pathetic.

No, and you know,

from an applied perspective,

It's not even that complicated.

You just need a bit more

imagination.

Say you have a target, okay?

A bank, right?

We all know that

redundant security measures

Embedded within

the bank's framework,

When triggered,

immediately shut down, okay?

But picture

a simultaneous breach on, uh,

On the bank's

telecommunications grid.

All right?

It has the same limitations.

It shuts down.

Now we're in, right?

We have a completely

vulnerable target, yes?

To do what you're saying

would require hacking

An almost impossibly complex

array of targets.

Which, I'm sorry,

is just f***ing insane!

Now, at this critical moment,

Imagine a different algorithm

is introduced,

Something that breaks

out of the reaction.

There's literally nothing

at this point

That could stop it

from accessing everything,

Crippling everything.

I mean, I swear to god,

The biggest weakness

of the world's grid,

I mean everything, is its

own embedded security measures.

He's bluffing.

There's no possible way

this system would work.

It's just not f***ing possible!

Practically speaking,

we operate on separate grids

- From china or Russia or...

- Not to mention

Our power grid's

antiquated scada systems

Are completely independent

of the global grid.

- All the more susceptible.

- What did you say?

I said,

"all the more susceptible."

- You are unbelievable.

- John...

No. You think

you're such hot sh*t?

You're on the cover

of time magazine.

Your f***in' fields medal.

It doesn't make you the king

Of every room you walk into.

- That's true.

- Think just because

Your picture's plastered

on the pages of textbooks

Means you have

the power to play...

What you're describing

is a hacking algorithm

On a scale like nothing

ever earthly devised.

In fact, the only thing

I can think of to replicate

The kind of power

you're talking about

Is the f***ing sun, okay?

I won the wolf medal

and the abel prize...

This is bigger

than any one person.

What's your end game?

It's a fair question.

What do you hope to gain here?

Time. Just... Just...

Just a bit more time.

For what?

This ridiculous notion?

I think we've all

had enough here.

I'm not asking

that you believe me.

And it doesn't matter, does it?

I'm asking that you respect

what we've done.

Or what?

What are you gonna do?

I'm almost singlehandedly

responsible

For the biggest mathematical

contribution... Time!

An entire dimension

has been controlled.

- You can't lock it away!

- No, no, you see,

You're almost

solely responsible

For our significant

mathematical contribution.

Everything

you think you can do,

I now control...

You're nothing.

So I ask you again...

This threat of yours,

Whatever it is,

what are you going to do?

There's literally nothing

I can't do.

You are so full of sh*t.

Doctor, this is paranoia.

But if it comes down

to you or no one,

I'll do everything in my power

to make sure

This system never sees

the light of day.

Well, this is a disgusting

display, and why would you?

- Excuse me?

- Why would you risk everything?

- Because it's what's right!

- I mean, when you have

So much going for you.

International respect.

I mean, the fields medal.

Career.

Money.

Family.

I mean, wouldn't it be tragic

if something happened

To your brother Thomas

and his lovely wife Laura

In Temecula, California?

Or their two beautiful children,

Samuel and grace?

God forbid something happened

to your poor

Parkinson's-Plagued

uncle Steven in Poughkeepsie,

Or your parents,

Joseph and Marie.

247 mallard lane,

Westchester, Pennsylvania.

Marie doesn't get around as well

as she used to, does she?

And that split level

they live in

Makes getting out of it

in case of a fire

Pretty treacherous.

And that affair your father's

been having with his assistant

For 15 years...

would break your mother's heart,

wouldn't it?

You...

you and your pathetic attempt.

I f***ing own you.

In closing,

Mathematics has become

the engine of mankind,

The world's combustion chamber.

And I suppose, in a way,

it's always served this purpose.

But within it, we can document

the beauty of the waltz

Or catapult humanity

at all odds

Against the oppressive

forces of gravity.

Mathematics widens smiles,

it bridges cultural divides.

It transcends

geopolitical allegiances.

And it regulates frequencies

So our hospital's

life support machines

Forever go ba-Beep,

ba-Beep, ba-Beep.

In many ways,

mathematics has become

What I've always feared

and worked to limit...

Marginalized.

In a world of plenty,

it no longer unites.

It divides us.

That's why I'm...

I'm different, you know?

It's, uh...

this has always

been a journey for me.

And like any great expedition,

It began with

a grand embarkation and...

terminates with

a soft, nervous compression.

I've gone from trumpeting

my findings on mountaintops

To fearfully realizing that...

there is no gift

if it is not shared.

Today, maybe more so than ever,

Mathematics is the teacher

and it's also the pupil.

But, to me, its

most important application...

it has the ability to take you

off the grid...

To take us off the grid.

To too many, it's mobile phones,

it's gps navigation,

It's dishwashers...

computer games,

portable televisions,

Compact disc players,

organic food distribution,

High-Definition...

calculator wristwatches,

radio control,

Lasik eye surgery,

laser brain redaction,

Non-Invasive arthroscopy...

g5s, c-4,

and weapons-Grade u-235...

allowed artificial hearts

And heartless

artificial intelligence...

blackberries, iPhones,

facebook, MySpace...

allowed devastation,

manipulation,

And dehumanization.

But why stop now?

Why not take it farther?

I mean, uh...

look at the source.

The power of god

To create, to destroy...

to disappear.

Don't blink.

You may miss something.

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