RSA Conference Theme

RSA Conference is an annual high-profile conference on the Information Security Industry (RSA is a leading encryption firm) . The Sponsors of this event include leading IT firms such as Microsoft,Cisco,Symantec,Sun etc and some of the leading speakers this year are Bill Gates, Scott Mcnealy, John Chambers, FBI Director (It is held currently in the Bay Area between Feb 13-17).

I was surprised to see a India based theme on the official website (The Taj picture was quite prominent). When I dug further, I discovered that this year's theme is centered on vedic mathematics ( RSA believes that ancient vedic mathematics is the foundation of encryption and security today !).

Here is what they say " Every year, the RSA Conference is built around a different historical theme which highlights a significant use, or misuse, of information security. In 2006, the theme is centered on ancient Vedic mathematics, and a mathematical Sage named Aryabhatta.

Modern Codes in Ancient Sutras

In 499 CE, in Kusumpura, capital of the Gupta Empire in classical India, a young mathematician named Aryabhatta published an astronomical treatise written in 118 Sanskrit verses. A student of the Vedic mathematics tradition that had slowly emerged in India between 1500 and 900 BC, Aryabhatta, only 23, intended merely to give a summary of Vedic mathematics up to his time. But his slender volume, the Aaryabhat.iiya, was to become one of the most brilliant achievements in the history of mathematics, with far-ranging implications in the East and West.

Aryabhatta correctly determined the axial rotation of the earth. He inferred that planetary orbits were elliptical, and provided a valid explanation of solar and lunar eclipses. His theory of the relativity of motion predated Einstein’s by 1400 years. And his studies in algebra and trigonometry, which laid the foundations for calculus, influenced European mathematicians 1,000 years later, when his texts were translated into European languages from 8th century Arabic translations of the Sanskrit originals.

Today, the work of information security professionals affects the global business community in ways as profound and far-reaching as the seminal calculations of Aryabhatta. Join us at the RSA Conference 2006 to celebrate the mathematical achievements of ancient India, and discover unprecedented approaches to securing your business and applications."