Hard Math CAPTCHAs – Easy As Pie

I mean Pi. Funny example of security control failure:

It seems these scientists want to ward off ruffians who can’t do advanced math. After all, the service they’re offering is access to truly random numbers — a difficult computer science feat on its own, and one that only responsible adults should have access to.

The scientists thought it would be a good idea to give their viewers a math challenge — solve a basic calculus problem to prove they are human. An equation version of the CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) is posted on their sign up page. Would this be called a CAPECHA?

Solve Me

But these math elitists may have a problem on their hands. As calculus teachers around the world are now discovering, the Internet will now do your math homework for you. Just go to WolframAlpha and pop in the problem, and boom, you’ll have access to all the random numbers your heart could desire.

Perhaps they did it for the publicity, or just for the humor. Or maybe they did it to drive up the market price for hired CAPTCHA-solution labor. I wonder if the next Craigslist ad for “easy money, work from home” will include basic calculus as a required skill.

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