3.11, due on September 24

1. (Difficult) Yes.  It is difficult.  I think the general idea of fields seems comprehensible, but I wish the examples were simpler somehow.  I didn't try to follow them through: there are so many X's all around.  I really hope that in class we are able to learn about finite fields in a way that both helps me understand the general theory, and also how to work with them as much as we will need to.
   Also, I recall the section talking about fields, and then starting to talk about finite fields, but I'm not sure if they differentiate them.   Perhaps the difference is supposed to be obvious?  A simple statement of the difference would help me.  Maybe I just didn't notice it.
2. (Reflective) I have some experience with the details of implementing the finite field operations necessary for AES.  If I recall, and from what this section suggests, the implementation for AES of finite fields is not all that difficult, but if I can get at least some more intuition about them I would be satisfied.