Understanding the Voynich Manuscript #1 Tom, Dick and Harry explain a statistical method. The mysterious Voynich Manuscript. A simple analysis of a sufficiently large text can reveal much about the topic of that text, if the language is known. If the text, as in the case of the Voynich Manuscript, is written in an unknown script, then the same simple analytical method can point the way to the underlying language, or language group.
Mailspam, Webspam, and Freedom of Speech."given that the e-mail system has gone largely unchanged since 1965,perhaps we should be grateful that it works at all. " - David A. KarpPCmag.comSpam is the biggest single threat to the continued operation of the entire internet. I'll explain shortly why I think it's such a big threat, but first, I'll explain what I mean by the term 'spam'.What Is Spam?To my way of thinking, spam is just another variant of malware. Even though most spam emails don't fire up software, they fit the simplest definition of malware.
Concern Who It MayWhen should one use 'who', and when 'whom'? A simple enough question on the face of it, but in practice a path through a quagmire.Generally, making a choice between 'who' and 'whom' in constructs does not lead to a significant change in meaning. But it may. Consider the stock phrase "to whom it may concern." Here, the term 'concern' means 'be of interest'. By way of contrast, in the phrase "concern who it may", 'concern' may mean 'trouble', 'worry', or 'annoy'. Annoy who it may!
Defrosting The FreezerThere are many ways to defrost a freezer. You can just switch off the power and wait for room temperature to permeate the ice. You can use a heat source such as a hair-dryer or hot air gun. Or you could chip away the ice and dump it where it will melt naturally due to local atmospheric temperature.As I write this, Britain is shivering in its worst winter for 30 years. A temperature has been measured in Scotland insignificantly different from the current temperature at the South Pole. Supplies of grit, salt and gas are being rationed.A large number of comments have been posted on newspaper websites claiming that our current U.K. weather disproves the theory of global warming.
The Voynich Manuscript Part 9 : An Amateur's Work?
The Lockerbie InjusticeTo those victims’ relatives who can bear to hear me say this: they continue to have my sincere sympathy for the unimaginable loss that they have suffered.To those who bear me ill will, I do not return that to you.Abdul Ali al-MegrahiToday, Abdul Ali al-Megrahi was released from prison on compassionate grounds. I rejoice at that decision. Ever since he was named as the Lockerbie bomber I have had exceedingly strong doubts that he was even so much as implicated, let alone the bomb-builder. I would like to share my thoughts about this.
The Voynich Manuscript Part 7 : Further Dating StudiesI present here more evidence in support of my suggestion that the Voynich manuscript may date from a period between 1350 to 1450, perhaps even earlier. This is part 7 of an occasional series which commenced in part 1 with information about Wilfrid and Ethel Voynich.Merlons and Bartizans.
The Voynich Manuscript part 6 : The Other BabylonWhen I first saw images from the Voynich manuscript, I was interested in the unusual script. As a linguist, my first thoughts were about the possible underlying language. As I have repeatedly stated since part #1 of this series, it is futile to try to decode an unknown script without first accumulating as much background information as possible. All clues must be examined in order to create a sort of mental Venn diagram: a set of overlapping areas at the intersection of which the major clues to the puzzle are all found.
The Voynich Manuscript part 5 : The Baghdad Connection
The Voynich Manuscript part 4 : Not So Mysterious ?The Voynich manuscript was written in an as yet unreadable script. It is named after Wilfrid Voynich, who acquired it as a dealer in 1912 from the library of Villa Mondragone, a Jesuit college in Frascati, Italy. It is now in the care of Yale Library.In my previous articles on Yale Library's Beinebecke MS 408 I focused on its background. I am now going to discuss some basic possibilities about its unusual script. I am still working on an attempt to transcribe the text into modern English. If I succeed, my readers here at scientificblogging will be the first to know.
The Voynich Manuscript : An Enigma, Part #3The Voynich manuscript, Beinebecke Library's MS 408 is a handwritten parchment codex of about 240 pages measuring 225 x 160 mm. The manuscript is in an unreadable script. Most of its pages are illustrated. For nearly 100 years, not one person or group has managed to decode even a single word of it.
The Voynich Manuscript : An Enigma, Part #2It is nearly 100 years since the Voynich manuscript arrived in America. In that time, not one person or group has managed to decode even a single word of it.I suggest that decryption of any document requires as much prior knowledge as possible about the physical document, its origin and purpose. For that reason, I am compiling a background to the Voynich manuscript before any discussion of possible encryption schemes.
The Voynich Manuscript : An Enigma, Part #1There are many unsolved mysteries in this world. A web search for 'greatest mysteries', 'unsolved mysteries', 'world's greatest mysteries' and similar search terms leads to many sites dealing mostly with the strange and the paranormal. It is all too easy to claim that science has yet to explain x, y and z, and many sites make such claims. Before science can explain a mystery it must be explainable at least in principle. The Voynich manuscript seems to be explainable, at least in principle. It is just a matter of breaking a code.
