[larrys]

"Think: the ticking agent asking you if you are bringing bombs onto the plane in your luggage."

Actually average people would probably know enough to think "someone could just lie when asked - that doesn't provide protection".

To me "security theater" is doing things that seem to appear to lock something down in the eyes of an average uninformed person. Average is not Bruce Schneier or an 8 year old. It's a typical traveler who believes they are secure because they see checkpoints, have to take their shoes off, and have to have their laptop scanned.