1. I must admit I was a little nervous when I read the disclaimer at the beginning of the chapter, mentioning the difficulty of the chapter material. However, I've taken abstract algebra so the stuff about fields was just review (although a timely review of fields was needed). The only hard part about the chapter were the later sections dealing with various fields that we will be looking at. For example GF(2^8) is a field with which I'm unfamiliar. I'm a little confused about how to work "mod the irreducible polynomial ... ". How does one work "mod" ANY polynomial? I think with a little thought, it might come to me, but I do need a little direction.
2. The most interesting part, was actually the same as the most difficult part. I think because I've taken so many math classes up to this point, I'm now somewhat curious as to how to mod things with respect to some polynomial. When I figure this out, it will be as if opening up a new area of exploration and operation. I'm naturally drawn to this part of the reading because it is so much like the other readings I've been doing for the last umpteen years. I guess I need to become accustomed to similarly looking at new cypher systems and terms so as to become equally curious as to how they work and fit together.
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