Most interesting discussion. I think your definition of the issue :

“All of these things tie right back to ‘identity’ (as the industry insists on calling it). Who am I? Who are you? And how do we prove it to each other in such a way that it doesn’t get in the way of what we were trying to do in the first place.”

is spot on.

Learning it (the problem definition) by heart might keep a researcher (even Bill Gates) properly focused.