The Verification
Alice explains to Gary:
Gary, to verify this, I take the email I received, and I run it through the same hashing machine. What do I get?
Gary: "Uh... HORSE_TAP_DANCE_123?"
Alice: "Correct. Now, I take the wax blob Bob attached, and I hold it up to the Public Glass Display Case Bob's public key. The display case has a special property: it can tell me if the wax blob was created by the exact Mr. Whiskers seal that matches the photo, and it will show me the fingerprint that was inside the wax."
(Alice performs the cryptographic verification: She uses Bob's public key to decrypt the signature, revealing the hash Bob originally signed.)
Alice: "Look! The display case reveals that the wax blob contained the fingerprint HORSE_TAP_DANCE_123. It matches perfectly."
The Grand Reveal
Alice: "Gary, there is only one Mr. Whiskers seal in the entire universe. It is in Bob's pocket. The fact that this wax blob matches the email and passes the public display case test proves, with the power of math, that Bob physically pressed his special cat seal onto this exact email. He didn't just write it; he certified it with his cat's face."
Gary: "Bob... you pressed your cat's face on a lie?"
Bob: "I... I plead the fifth."
Gary: "The fifth doesn't work on math, Bob. You're buying Alice lunch for a week."
The Moral of the Story:
· Private Key: Your secret wax seal (Don't lose it).
· Public Key: The display case everyone can look at.
· Signature: The wax blob that proves you touched the document.
· Non-Repudiation: The inability to say "I didn't do that" when your cat's face is on the evidence.
Cryptography: Because 'He said, She said' is no match for 'The Math said.'
#cryptohumor #digital #blockchaincomedy #programmingmemes #cryptography