what are the sub keys

[Lists.gnupg at mephisto.fastmail.net]

On Wed, Mar 23, 2011 at 10:58:38PM +0100 Also sprach Ingo Klöcker:
>
>I claim that of all 4096 keys that can be found on the public keyservers
>most have been created by people who just went for the highest number.
>Because bigger must be better, right?
>

I cannot resist offering the following quote from Neil Stephenson's
Cryptonomicon, which makes a similar observation:

> So the length of the key that you use is, in and of itself, a code of
> sorts. A knowledgeable government eavesdropper, noting Randy's and
> Avi's use of a 4096-bit key, will conclude one of the following:
>   --Avi doesn't know what he's talking about. This can be ruled out
>     with a bit of research into his past accomplishments. Or,
>   --Avi is clinically paranoid. This can also be ruled out with some
>     research. Or,
>   --Avi is extremely optimistic about the future development of
>     computer technology, or pessimistic about the political climate, or
>     both. Or,
>   --Avi has a planning horizon that extends over a period of at least
>     a century.