Submitted by AutoModerator t3_ywvph3 in askscience
physicswizard t1_iwlyj3k wrote
Reply to comment by PieMastaSam in Ask Anything Wednesday - Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science by AutoModerator
Hash functions are designed to be easy to perform, but difficult to undo, and multiple inputs could map to the same output. As an analogy, think about adding two numbers. It is simple to say 2+3=5, but if I gave you the number 5 and asked which two numbers I added together to get that, there are multiple answers. Now imagine the operation is even more complicated than addition, involving bit shifts, elliptic curves, etc.
dreamingbutterfly t1_iwp4gw5 wrote
Indeed, the possibilities are infinite, are they not?
1+4=5
0+5=5
-1+6=5
...
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