APOD: The Mysterious Voynich Manuscript (2010 Jan 31)

[talion]

my first thought when I read about the voynich manuscript was the black sea emperor Mithradates and his famous Mithradatium. though it apparently is far younger than when his reign was (about 1500 years actually) however it could be a copy of his journal and could explain why the plants in the pictures are not very recognizable. copies of copies as it were. which would also explain how it apparently came to be sought by an emperor. there were many astronomical events that coincided with his life which would explain any astronomical references. also Mithradates' talent for languages was well known so I don't think the idea of him inventing his own language with which to encode his own journal for something as valuable as his personal journal with poison antidotes, etc is too far fetched. the value of such knowledge in that time would have made sure that the book was preserved and copied even if nobody understood the code.

[skipdallas]

I would think , without seeing it, that it is some kind of Personal Cipher. Or an elaborate joke.
skipdallas

[Cozmonott]

Taking a look at all the pictures in the book, gives me the impression that its an early attempt at the encyclopedia. Trying to answer the meaning of life. All aspects of life.

Finally someone smart enough to know that this isn't "phases of the moon" nor medieval casino and surely not a calendar!
You're totally right, that's exactly what this is all about! but why is it written in a secret language this is the real question!
Of course it is obvious the writer wanted to protect these much more important secrets also truths yet wanted the rest of the world to know what he discovered & it's obvious he was Christian believer u can see it in his writings, we all know what the 8 shape symbol meant at that time.

I'm also sure that till this moment the world ignores how much valuable this manuscript is! for if they knew it wouldn't be sitting on Yale's shelf, it would definitely be in the best museum.

this picture alone published on APOD, I really believe it's a compass also, but unlike ordinary compass that indicate where to go. this compass was made to be lost and its object not to guide people but exactly to loose them all, only those who seeks the truth should find it...

I know exactly what this manuscript is about but surely can't reveal more than I already did this is not the place

[Cozmonott]

NB: if anyone can decipher this, humbly "c'est moi" for I knew this existed even before I saw this picture but didn't know where to look thanks to APOD now I know where it is in YALE :@@ I'm so far! but I'll do my best to lay my hands on this Masterpiece!

[bystander]

I know exactly what this manuscript is about but surely can't reveal more than I already did this is not the place

Forgive my disbelief. You sound exactly like any other crackpot who claims to have all the answers. So easy to say until you are required to show the proof.

[geckzilla]

Psst, bystander. I have a jar of cold fusion on my desk, here. What? NO! You can't see it. I'm afraid you just aren't ready for it, yet.

[bystander]

That's quite remarkable. Must be a doozy of a containment field. What do you use it for? I just hope you don't get it mixed up with your cold cream. That could be catastrophic.

[geckzilla]

Oh, that is so you, dismissing my amazing invention with your jocularity. See what I mean? You are definitely not ready.

...Wow, I'm starting to dislike myself even though I'm just pretending.

[The Code]

Taking a look at all the pictures in the book, gives me the impression that its an early attempt at the encyclopedia. Trying to answer the meaning of life. All aspects of life.

Finally someone smart enough to know that this isn't "phases of the moon" nor medieval casino and surely not a calendar!
You're totally right, that's exactly what this is all about! but why is it written in a secret language this is the real question!
Of course it is obvious the writer wanted to protect these much more important secrets also truths yet wanted the rest of the world to know what he discovered & it's obvious he was Christian believer u can see it in his writings, we all know what the 8 shape symbol meant at that time.

I'm also sure that till this moment the world ignores how much valuable this manuscript is! for if they knew it wouldn't be sitting on Yale's shelf, it would definitely be in the best museum.

this picture alone published on APOD, I really believe it's a compass also, but unlike ordinary compass that indicate where to go. this compass was made to be lost and its object not to guide people but exactly to loose them all, only those who seeks the truth should find it...

I know exactly what this manuscript is about but surely can't reveal more than I already did this is not the place

All aspects of life, That includes what they saw in the sky. My meaning of encyclopedia Means everything.
I would not say it was any secret language, I would say, Its an attempt at translating a language, Maybe from a lost civilization. It maybe a works from what the author saw. Or heard. And did not understand it.

The galaxy photo, With the up and down motion, makes me skeptical.

But Thanks

[Cozmonott]

I know exactly what this manuscript is about but surely can't reveal more than I already did this is not the place

Forgive my disbelief. You sound exactly like any other crackpot who claims to have all the answers. So easy to say until you are required to show the proof.

I don't blame you for that, it's a natural reaction.
well I wish I was, & I assure you it wasn't easy for me to post here... I saw this pic. just 2 days ago & I was amazed shocked... till the moment I decided to give it a try and write & make a simple comment, didn't know how to explain I still find it hard to explain all this in few written words...
of course I'll be glad to prove and that's exactly what I need, a chance not just to prove I'm right for I don't really care what I care is to be able to read every word from this manuscript I know the secret in this but surely still don't know the language. But I'm also sure I can find it with little help from others cause I only know 3 languages when there's so much more... but is there a way to prove anything here?! I tried 2 pass a truth on another site on other subject & wrote a page and I'm sure it was in vain for words will remain words.., worthless letters joined together if you can't see nor hear the author, not even feel his spirit.

[ricardelico]

Judging by the picture and by what Ive read here, I support the calendar theory. The strange and illogical (too many repeated "letters") language may be due to a sort of playful intention in crafting the manuscript. Its not so much a hoax as the result of a ludical artcraft, skilled but also ignorant. A servant? A countryperson? The count of two stars in nine of the months, and only one on each of the top three, seems to mark an agricultural calendar, important for the author's community. Or simply the fact that three months of the year have considerably less light than the other nine. Theorywise Im up for simplicity.

[geckzilla]

I know exactly what this manuscript is about but surely can't reveal more than I already did this is not the place

Forgive my disbelief. You sound exactly like any other crackpot who claims to have all the answers. So easy to say until you are required to show the proof.

I don't blame you for that, it's a natural reaction.
well I wish I was, & I assure you it wasn't easy for me to post here... I saw this pic. just 2 days ago & I was amazed shocked... till the moment I decided to give it a try and write & make a simple comment, didn't know how to explain I still find it hard to explain all this in few written words...
of course I'll be glad to prove and that's exactly what I need, a chance not just to prove I'm right for I don't really care what I care is to be able to read every word from this manuscript I know the secret in this but surely still don't know the language. But I'm also sure I can find it with little help from others cause I only know 3 languages when there's so much more... but is there a way to prove anything here?! I tried 2 pass a truth on another site on other subject & wrote a page and I'm sure it was in vain for words will remain words.., worthless letters joined together if you can't see nor hear the author, not even feel his spirit.

It has already been suggested that it could be glossolalia aka speaking in tongues (sound familiar now?).

[Cozmonott]

yea thanks geckzilla

[geckzilla]

Perhaps you could take it to church and see if anyone else comes up with the same translation before you tell them your translation.

[BMAONE23]

If you wish to see the manuscript, it is available on line from the Yale server
here

[emc]

I found this rock the other day… and it rolled quite easily… so I played with it for a while, rolling… stopping… rolling. Then I began to notice strange details in the rock. It seemed it was looking back at me! So I rolled it more ferociously… Then everything became blurry… dusty if you will, like being in the middle of a Martian dust storm, so I stopped rolling. When the dust settled, I noticed someone standing over me... without a head!

[FieryIce]

Isn't it interesting how many viewpoints are given about this Manuscript?

[hyperpyper]

I must agree it must be a hoax. The simplest explanation is usually the correct explanation.
About the same time this manuscript was to be written, it was common for many works of literature to be forged, copied and rewritten with different meanings, ideas, etc. I believe this is what this text is ... something written to make a few dollars and gain some noteriety for the original author. Many of the diagrams seem to be pagan in nature, with a mix of astronomy, agriculture and the like, but nothing with any discernable meaning, connection or historical value. The big value of the texts is the rarity, the simple detail of the images and the intrigue it posesses.

[Rubie]

To me it looks like some sort of electron configuration.

[darthdruid]

the letters appear to be a europeanization of hebrew

[logmark]

I am of the mind that scholars, like clerics and twelve-year-old boys, need an occasional scolding. This site is an avenue for me and many others to once again lay on our little-boy backs and stare at the stars, to look through film-negative covered binoculars at sun spots, and to pause in mouth-agape wonderment over the moving dot that was Sputnik.

Only now I am not limited by my tiny budget to the nearly useless 3" reflector telescope of my youth, but have the benefit of the best the world can resolve thanks to the internet and APOD. Scholarly scolding of the masses' uninformed thought during dicussions assumes a superiority of interest. I claim as much interest as any though I admit to a lesser aptitude and certainly
less knowledge on these subjests.

Perhaps we, the scientifically unstudied, require a site called AAPOD - Amatuer Astronomy POD. That way those who spend their lives in scientific archeology (anthropology?) won't be so irked at those of my ilk. Meanwhile, keep those APOD pictures coming. I'm gradually learning, and getting younger by the minute .... thanks!

[Oh, and why do I feel set up? It seems a great deal IS known about this image, or at least its contex. If there is so much
known, why ask a question which puts the unknowing in the position of looking silly just for answering?]

[bystander]

Most of what is known about this manuscript is, at best, speculation. Although there are many who claim to have deciphered the meaning, there exists no consensus of opinion. The only things I know about it to be true are that it exists, Yale University has the manuscript, and it is available on-line for viewing.

See this Timeline of the Voynich Manuscript

[bystander]

Myths abound about Beinecke
Yale Daily News - 2010 Feb 04

Since its opening in 1963, the marble exterior of Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library has kept hidden Yale’s most obscure texts and invited the speculation of visitors and students alike. Stephen Jones, head of access services at the Beinecke Library, shared with the News some of the most widespread rumors and absurd myths that abound on campus.

The timing of this article and this discussion seems a little coincidental.

[azutjw]

Hey yall - please pardon, but I have 2 thoughts.

1 Has anyone got a good guess as to which came first - the text or the illustrations? My own experience goes back to manual techniques, and this appears to me to be some one, some the other, some both...

2 There appears to me to be a rhythm to a great deal of the text. I have read that in medieval times (and priors) 'educated' men were expected to be able to compose, extemporaneously, stories of their exploits and experiences suitable for bardic preservation. Just make up nonsense (but consistent) sounds for certain characters, and 'read' it to yourself. Perhaps a chaunt, or some lay of semi-historical/mystical significance.

I'd say my 2c worth, but it's only a ha'penny.

[aagabus]

Imagine,

There was one scientist in Medieval times. He had a dream. He saw a alien planet in alien solar system. And there was alien civilisation with theyr language.
The scientist decided to not explain his vision to no-one, otherwise he could end in Inquisition Court.
Also he decided to wrote it in no known language but in original one.

There exist different logic in language science, if there is no translator to understand Earths 2.nd intelligent lifeform - dolphines there is no way to understand any non-human civilisation.
This book might be not only occult gem but milestone test for first superhuman translation unit (STU).

Sorry for no scientific reply ;D