16.5, due on December 9

• In this section, I had a hard time going through the application of ElGamal digital signatures on an elliptic curve. The outline seems very similar to the signature we already learned (outside of elliptic curves), and maybe that's why its tripping me up. It is so similar that I'm having a hard time making the distinctions.
  
• I really loved this section as well. It helps me to apply a new concept to an older one that I already understand. That helps me to understand both subjects better. The only thing I would've liked to have seen more of in this section is examples. I followed the outlines pretty well, except that of the signature. Elliptic curves are still pretty new and are still taking some getting used to. It would have been wonderful for me to see more examples.
  

16.4, due on December 7

• The only thing I found a little bit difficult was the addition of points in a field on an elliptic curve. I followed what was said in the book, but it is still a little bit unclear how to do it.
  
• This section of reading was really neat because it brought back fields and presented a new approach to using them. I didn't understand fields at first, but after receiving some help and explanation I really feel like I've got them. It was nice to be able to take a relatively new concept and apply it to a relatively old one. Putting the two together helped my understanding of fields as well as my understanding of elliptic curves.
  

16.3, due on December 4

• I'm still a little bit unclear as to how elliptic curves work. I follow along in lecture and understand the examples, but I'm still a little cloudy. The fact that elliptic curves can be singular is also a stumbling block for me.
  
• This section of reading referred back to two other methods of factoring n. It referred back to the p-1 method as well as the Quadratic Sieve. I was intrigued at how similar this "elliptic curve" factorization was to the P-1 method.