On the uses of signatures
Posted by Martin Orr on Friday, 08 September 2006 at 21:19
What is the use of a signature? The basic function seems to be to confirm the identity of the author of a document - you can't after all attach a photographic ID card. However I am not convinced that they are much good at this: it cannot be terribly difficult, with a little practice, to produce a reasonable copy of someone else's signature. And in order to verify a signature, you would have to compare the doubtful copy with other, genuine, copies of the same signature. However, I know that each time I make my signature it is slightly different, and if people checked too carefully very few signatures would be trustable.
This does not mean that a signature is completely useless - it is still indicates the status you assign to a document. For example, the most recent form I remember signing was to purchase insurance. If I had not signed the form, it would just have been a collection of information; putting my signature there indicates that I have accepted the terms and conditions, and turns it into an instruction to the insurance company to send me a policy. But it is not really any better for such purposes to add a signature than to tick a box labelled "I accept the terms and conditions."
BTW, the photos from my trip to Germany and Italy are online; sorry it took me so long to post the link.
-- Martin