The Mysterious Voynich Manuscript

[check_status]

Written in some strange language or encypherment so mystifying that even the NSA code breakers could not uncover it's secrets. The book is divided into botanical, astronomical and prescriptive with 15 century characters in the astronomy sections. The vellum of the book has been carbon dated to the 15th century and is believed to be a 15th century document by most. It is a fascinating work that amazes and confounds.

All images can be viewed via the web at the manuscripts current home at the Beinecke Yale library.
http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/dl_crosscollex/SearchExecXC.asp?srchtype=VCG

I personally think it includes Ancient Armenian script and Byzantine Musical Notation originating from within the Persian region along the silk road. I think it was made for Queen Isabella of Portugal as she was having birthing issues and died as a result of birthing her 6th child. Portugal was also moving away from importing spices via the silk road and getting their own supplies direct from India. The book may have been a diplomatic effort to renew negotiations as well.

[teflone]

These manuscripts have always fascinated me...

Very cool stuff, but most likely a fraud from long ago..  

Manuscripts like this back then were made up for the rich and powerful. You were not someone unless you had something like this, many fake books like this were made at that time, for that market.

As the text consists of 100 percent fictional random characters..

There is little to no repeats of characters/words. Which is suspicious, and why it has not been deciphered.

[check_status]

I talked with an Ancient Medicinal Botanical Manuscript Expert and it is his opinion that the botanical images are of real species and on a cursory examination of the images he identified 4 plants absolutely. If it is a fraud, it is a very elaborate fraud.

[edd]

xkcd has a reasonably plausible explanation.

[tarrant_01]

This was pretty interesting to read: http://www.edithsherwood.com/voynich_decoded/index.php

He still has a lot of work to do though  .

[cbeast]

Maybe the author was dyslexic? Seriously though, why would anagrams be popular?

[tarrant_01]

As that author stated, to defy the church with science could have resulted in death.  To save their asses, the wrote their findings in anagrams.  Something like that anyway.  No idea why this particular manuscript was coded that way.

[farfiman]

I just put up this thread:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=82609.msg910644#msg910644

In there is a crazy explanation for this manuscript as well.... - An alien child's botany notebook!

[westkybitcoins]

xkcd has a reasonably plausible explanation.

Yeah. I could buy this.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

Rudolf II (King of Germany): What you got for me today, Johnny?
John Dee (Mathematician): I've dubbed it The Long Troll. We, my underling, Satoshi, and I, penned this White Paper, offering it to you as a gift, knowing how you love herbs and all.
Rudolf II: I'll have my developer, Björn Andrésen, take a look at it to see what he thinks, for I'm now getting ready to take a trip to the Far East, moreover, The Silk Road.
John Dee: I envy you, my lord.
Rudolf II: BTW, is there a way we could profit from this White Paper of yours? You know how I love value.
John Dee: Glad you ask, my lord. I have a following of Geeks with Bruce of York at their command.
Rudolf II: Not sure what a Geek is, but I see this going somewhere, some day.

[Distribution]

You can find the whole thing out there, it's pretty cool to look at. When I was searching about it, I got really into the Codex Seraphinianus. Although not at all mysterious in it's origin, it's pretty awesome.

[RodeoX]

I was obsessed with this one month. My best guess... It is a "fake" doctor book. There are several other examples out there. It is hard for us to understand, but there was a time when books and reading were magical. At this time there was a trade in fake books that looked to the illiterate like real writing. A quack doctor would look you over then consult his book and sell you some home made medicine.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

I found this explanation rather interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpzLhmH0UYs

[check_status]

I found this explanation rather interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpzLhmH0UYs

That is the video that got me so intrigued with the Voynich Manuscript.
I wanted to know if any of the letters are represented in other languages. I found they were, in Asia, from Tibet to Turkey to India, existing from within that triangle. I found Ancient Armenian to have most similarities, based on the work of C. G. Boeree.
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/evolalpha.html

When that listed below is compared to 57v of the VM there are some very strong possibilities.

Various asian numbers
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~hlibcat/images/BA8944E3AED7B2DF35BEEF122AEC270F91B0D0B8.gif

A Tibetan intercalary months calander with numbers.
http://www.kalacakra.org/calendar/VKP_221b.jpg

Brahmi scripts through different periods comparison.
http://www.guide-to-symbols.com/_images_pub2/brahmi600w.png

Here is a more modern Tibetan calendar includes english.
http://www.tibettravel.cn/images/Tibet_Discovery/Tibetan_Calendar.jpg

Armenian scripts that have a very strong possibility for being in the VM.
http://www.glazman.org/specs/numberings_files/armenian.png

Three languages that have some logograms from the Voynich manuscript, Marathi, Gumurkhi, and Punjabi. Punjabi has the frequency pattern of the VM special character (Upward stroke, counter-clockwise circular, horizontal stroke, counter-clockwise circular, downward stroke), though not the style of the logograms in the VM.

[check_status]

Here were some of the searches from the beginning looking for similarities.

This picture contains a familiar image from the VM with the 8 pointed flower/star in circle.
http://nasrani.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/syriac.JPG

I was under the impression, not sure why, the VM had Tibetan numbers. :shrugs: That was the first place I began to look.

Tibetan Numbers.
http://www.nalanda-university.com/buddhist-ayurveda-encylopedia/tibet_language_tibetan_num.gif

This picture shows Tibetan Uchen, Ume and their transliterations.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/%D0%A3%D0%BC%D0%B5-%D1%82%D0%B1%D1%8222.png/300px-%D0%A3%D0%BC%D0%B5-%D1%82%D0%B1%D1%8222.png

Ayurveda drawings of medicinal plants.
http://www.artandayurveda.com/1/images/280_0_2046932_36847.jpg
http://s4.hubimg.com/u/281515_f260.jpg
http://www.kailashcentre.org/tl_files/images/thankas_smaller/tibet116.jpg

An Arabic botanical book from the 15th century.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DTM0Cfw8HyM/TatDMxPiREI/AAAAAAAABVM/9EIrP_3g8lc/s320/1911%252C+Champane.jpg

[RodeoX]

Interesting stuff. I recall that the frequency of letters and length of words may imply that this is a real language. However I still think it is a fake language. Another clue is the botanical section. The plants depicted there are clearly not real. Many of them are composites of several plants thrown together.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

I say turn it into code and have it protecting a hot wallet of let's say 18K BTC. Then it'll be cracked within a month, and all the herbs will be depicted around a fountain.