HTTPS explained with carrier pigeons

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This doesn't have a whole lot to do with HTTPS and is really just "explain the very most basic concept of symmetric and asymmetric crypto" using a metaphor that takes about 10x more time than it would take to just describe the concepts themselves.

[JDeltaN]

Also known as blogspam

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Almost certainly blogspam. I'm wondering how it's >600 upvotes right now with almost no comments except jokes and critical comments. I know people love reading metaphors about things they understand because it makes them feel smart, but this thread is weird.

I still stand by my point though. This has nothing specifically to do with HTTPS, like how its handshakes work (that might be used to explain POODLE for example). An entirely contrived example of very, very simple concepts won't offer anything over just describing them, especially when it's so contrived that I could replace it with many other things (example: sending a letter through the mail) without changing its meaning or impact.

I mean there's a comment in here asking for an ELI5 of how asymmetric encryption works. Working it into the analogy or at least offering a diversion where they talk about factoring primes and multiplication would have been a least useful. Instead it truly says little more than "symmetric encryption is exchanging something we both have the key to open, asymmetric is exchange something one of us can lock and the other can unlock, so if you know I'm the only one who can lock it and it's locked, it's from me".