Kryptos 1/ Method vs Encryption

In classical cryptography, encryption and decryption are reversals of each other. Knowing the encryption method and key means a straightforward decryption. It is often assumed that the process of breaking K4 will give the solver a full understanding of how Sanborn created it.

The work of architect Zaha Hadid can be used to understand why this straightforward reversal is not always a safe assumption. Architects can set up complex parametric design systems that interrelate parts of the whole. For example, an architect could alter the orientation of a building while a parametric system adjusts window designs to always admit a certain amount of natural light. Hadid’s work reaches a level of complexity that invokes a sense of impossibility when viewed through the lens of traditional design and construction methods. Her work can be methodically deconstructed (solution method) without an understanding of the system by which they were designed (system of encryption).

Sanborn can make a cipher however he likes, as long he provides a path for decryption. There are no assurances that the two will mirror each other. For now I intend to ignore the question of how he did it, and go after the solution method.