Mission control wants to share Sky Sorter's snapshots with every school on the station.
"More snapshots help everyone learn," Rocket says. "Let's post them all, with every detail!"
Raven taps the screen. "Every detail includes who took each snapshot and from where."
Nova hums thoughtfully. "Sharing helps science," she says. "Privacy protects people. You can have a lot of both if you choose carefully."
Rocket thinks for a moment. "What if we keep the snapshots and remove the names and locations?"
Raven nods. "Now that is a trade-off worth making."
A trade-off is a choice where gaining one good thing means giving up some of another.
Making information public can help many people learn.
Keeping information private protects the people it is about.
Good designers look for a choice that keeps most of the benefit and protects people.
| Choice | Benefit | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Post snapshots with names and locations | Full credit and detail | Locations could leak |
| Post snapshots with first names only | Some credit | Smaller risk |
| Post snapshots with no names or locations | Everyone can still learn | Takers get less credit |
| Do not post anything | No privacy risk | Nobody else can learn |
Once you decide something is private, protect it.
Physical security measures protect things you can touch, like a lock on a cabinet.
Digital security measures protect electronic information, like a password on a device.
| Protection | Is it a digital security measure? |
|---|---|
| A password on a tablet | ? |
| A lock on the logbook cabinet | ? |
| A passcode on a shared computer account | ? |
| A closed door to the telescope room | ? |
Wise choices. Tomorrow you turn all of this into strong everyday habits.