Schneier’s argument ignores the art of War for one thing. If his argument were true, then nations and city-states are inherently insecure while the opposite is generally the case. Generals and admirals are notorious for missing key technologies that changed the art of warfare, but they had to adapt or their replacements did. More accurate rifles led to the beginnings of trench warfare in the American Civil War as troops dug for cover. The Great War drove home the lethality of machine guns and accurate firepower and trenches became a defensive necessity. Throughout human history there’s been a technological race between attack and defense. One can argue that our borders are sieves letting illegals in, but I guarantee you that if we saw an army massing on the border, we’d react swiftly to destroy it.

There are tradeoffs between security, convenience and money. There is also the psychological propensity of people to go with the group, and that is probably where the problem lies. One could just as easily blame our educational system for not teaching critical thinking skills, or for teaching people to be obedient “sheep”. We defer to leaders even when our leaders are incompetent. Is it an inability to separate the man from the office he holds, or see the truth of failed designs in New Orleans while politicians spin and lie about who’s to blame?

Our brains allow us to simulate what-ifs and prioritize threats and gauge risks. If one person can do it, others can. We are a thinking animal and our minds set us apart from other animals. We have writing as a means to convey information from generation to generation so that hard earned experience isn’t lost. Our genes aren’t necessarily at fault, it’s our mindset. This nature vs nuture argument of Schneier’s doesn’t wash. He’s proof that it doesn’t because the logical conclusion of his argument would mean that we are all too stupid to protect ourselves from one another, and he is one heck of a security expert. More people have to listen and want to learn security wisdom and wisdom in general.