Death Note: L, Anonymity and Eluding Entropy (2011)
5 days ago
- #Anonymity
- #Information Theory
- #Death Note
- Light Yagami's use of the Death Note to kill criminals with heart attacks revealed his existence to detective L, costing him significant anonymity.
- Light's scheduling of deaths at specific times allowed L to narrow down his location to Japan, costing him 6 bits of anonymity.
- Reacting to the Lind L. Tailor broadcast by killing him cost Light 1.6 bits of anonymity, narrowing his location to the Kanto region.
- Using confidential police information stolen via his father's credentials was Light's largest mistake, costing him 11 bits of anonymity.
- Killing Ray Penbar and the FBI team cost Light 6 bits of anonymity, comparable to his initial scheduling mistake.
- Light's failure to randomize his killings and methods made him vulnerable to L's deductions, highlighting the importance of randomization in maintaining anonymity.
- The essay explores how Light could have minimized information leakage by randomizing the timing, method, and selection of his killings.
- Information theory is used to quantify Light's mistakes, showing how each action reduced his anonymity in bits.
- The essay also discusses the broader implications of anonymity and privacy in the digital age, referencing real-world examples of deanonymization.