OK, fine, since I can't post charts, I'll put on my Andy Rooney mask and bellyache.
Let's start with this image:
Perhaps you recognize these. They are the kinds of security questions you encounter when signing up for accounts these days (like a bank account, a brokerage, or anything else sensitive to privacy).
Now, I understand the need for security. But I tend to be a precise thinker, and questions like these really get my goat (and regular readers know my goats are easily had, and I have an entire herd of them). I mean, let's consider some of these questions:
- What is the name of the first album you bought?
- What is your favorite animal?
- What is your favorite flower?
- What is your favorite food?
- What is your favorite drink?
Are they KIDDING me? Is anyone really so one-dimensional that they have one and only one favorite food? ("I like Big Macs"). Or a single favorite flower? I mean, I like Asian lillies, white roses, calla lilies, orchids, fressias………and favorite animal? There are thousands of animals on this planet. Surely you've got a few favorites.
And this just isn't idle ranting. Because you have to have answers for these questions if you want an account. And you can't just pick the one answer whose answer will be discrete (like your mother's maiden name); you have to pick three, which pushes you into ambiguous-land. So, months later, when confronted with security questions, you'll have to ask yourself, "Way back last Winter, which of the twelve different beverages that I really enjoy would have been my clear favorite when I signed up?"
Just one of life's frustrations that might not have occurred to you had I not pointed it out. You're welcome.
