Web of Trust (a revolution)

[Tim]

On Wed, 2009-04-01 at 10:37 -0400, m wrote:
> According to the info I have found, twins of any sort will not have 
> identical fingerprints, though their DNA might be virtually 
> indistinguishable if they are identical twins.

Many many years ago I remember finding out that identical twins are
rarely ever *identical*, but it was possible.  I'm sure I've read of at
least one instance where fingerprints were, too.

Which identity documents have your finger prints on?  It's years since
I've seen someone's passport, but they only had photos on them.
Likewise with our driver's licences.

I wonder if they'll start fingerprinting babies, in the modern terrorist
paranoid era?  (Still, though, such people don't seem to care if you
know who they are.)

Apparently we used to have DNA records of every baby in Australia,
thanks to Guthrie test cards (pin-prick to the heel, with the blood drop
pressed against a card) just being casually filed away in the back of
some cupboard.  Then there was a flap on as someone realised this, and
the potential for using them for something more than they were ever
intended for, and I recall reading that they were going to be destroyed.

Ultimately, identifying someone doesn't really prove a great deal,
unless you can also find out whether they're trustworthy or a con
artist, as well as who they are.

-- 
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