June 08, 2004
The Voynich Manuscript.
In 1912, the book dealer Wilfrid Voynich came into possession of this mysterious document, which has so far proven indecipherable. It was possibly written by the Franciscan monk Francis Bacon, and has links with Emperor Rudolf II of Bohemia among others. You can view the entire thing here. It includes a number of astounding illustrations, many biological drawings and, uh, some recipes, apparently.
Paging Languagehat to the thread, Languagehat to thread.
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It's a beautiful thing. The latest theory is that the language is total gibberish generated with a cardan grille by Edward Kelley in order to defraud Rudolf of a princely sum. Guardian: Secret of historic code: it's gibberish Economist: Another twist in the tale Nature: World's most mysterious book may be a hoax
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I cant' believe it. It's the third time something I decided not to post appears short time later.
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Fascinating object, even if it's a hoax. ...Especially if it's a hoax. On the other hand, it might just be the wrong people trying to decypher its writing, because it's so simple it's impossible.
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My initial attempts to decipher the code are suggestive. It is incomplete, but what I have so far: "...??e hollowe Ti?e C?be in w???h ??e IV ??adrant co?n?rs ??[snip]?? rotate e??ate? ? ??ur IV co?n?r ?edr??? or ? a IV co?n?r ??ass?oom which ?presents ??e IV co?n?rs of {Earth?} - ? which stupid a?d {wrong, bad?} pe??ants ?each dum? stud???s I co?n?r knowledge... [snip] You ar? ?ducat?d ??upid..." The last phrase is repeated frequently, and I believe it may be an alchemical formula of great significance.
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)))) for flashboy.
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If its an unknown language, it'll never be translated. If its a code, it still might never be translated, but there's a chance. If its gibberish it'll never be translated. So, I'm betting it'll never be translated.
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Got to say I also love this stuff. Bring it on, Zemat! Also, mondo huge 30-cm bananas for bbf et jh.
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Flashboy is not, I repeat NOT educated stupid. He has built his chair of wisdom.
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American Botanical Council Publishes Revolutionary Analysis Unlocking Mysteries of 500-Year-Old Manuscript