Since its discovery over a hundred days ago , the 240 - varlet Voynich holograph , filled with seemingly coded speech and inscrutable illustrations , has confound linguists and cryptanalyst . Using stilted intelligence , Canadian researchers have taken a huge step forrader in unknot the document ’s hide significance .
Named after Wilfrid Voynich , the Polish book dealer who procure the holograph in 1912 , the document is compose in an unsung handwriting that encodes an unknown language — a twofold - hex of unknown that has , until this point , been impossible to translate . The Voynich manuscript contain hundred of frail pages , some missing , with hand - written text go from left to rightfield . Most page are beautify with illustrations of diagram , including plants , nude figure , and astronomic symbols . But as for the meaning of the textual matter — nothing . No clue .
But not for want of trying . The holograph is deliberate the world ’s most important cypher , one size up by cryptographers , both professional and amateurs , for decades . It was even analyzed by codebreakers during the Second World War , but even they had no lot . Various theories about the code have been tossed around over the years , including that it was created using semi - random encoding schema ; anagrams ; or writing system in which vowel sound have been absent . Some have even suggested the document is an elaborate fraud .
For Greg Kondrak , an expert in natural language processing at the University of Alberta , this seemed a perfect undertaking for artificial intelligence activity . With the aid of his grad scholar Bradley Hauer , the computer scientist have taken a bragging gradation in cracking the code , unwrap that the text is written in what seems to be the Hebrew language , and with varsity letter arranged in a fixed rule . To be fair , the research worker still do n’t know the meaning of the Voynich manuscript , but the stagecoach is now determine for other experts to join the investigating .
“ That was surprising , ” tell Kondrak in a statement . “ And just saying ‘ this is Hebrew ’ is the first step . The next step is how do we decipher it . ”
For the 2nd whole step , the researchers harbour a hypothesis proposed by late researchers — that the script was create with alphagrams , that is , words in which text has been replaced by an alphabetically ordered anagram ( For example , an alphagram of GIZMODO would read DGIMOOZ ) . Armed with the knowledge that text was originally coded from Hebrew , the researchers organise an algorithm that could take these anagram and create real Hebraic words .
“ It turn out that over 80 percent of the words were in a Hebrew lexicon , but we did n’t know if they made sense together , ” said Kondrak .
For the final step , the researchers deciperhered the opening phrase of the manuscript , and presented it to colleague Moshe Koppel , a computer scientist and native Hebrew speaker . Koppel said it did n’t shape a coherent sentence in Hebrew .
“ However , after make a couple of spelling corrections , Google Translate [ was ] able to change it into passable English : ‘ She made recommendations to the non-Christian priest , man of the star sign and me and people , ’ ” drop a line the investigator in the study , which now seem inTransactions of the Association of Computational Linguistics .
It ’s a really uncanny way to open up a 240 - varlet holograph , but the set phrase really create some sense . Importantly , the research worker are n’t saying they ’ve trace the entire Voynich holograph . Rather , they ’ve identified the nomenclature of descent ( Hebrew ) , and a coding scheme in which missive have been format in a special order ( alphagram ) . Kondrak say the full meaning of the text wo n’t be known until historiographer of ancient Hebrew have a chance to read the deciphered text .
Excitingly , the team is plan to apply the new algorithm to other ancient scripts , highlighting the potential for AI to solve problem that have vex human race for centuries .
[ Transactions of the Association of Computational Linguistics ]
skill
Daily Newsletter
Get the best tech , science , and culture newsworthiness in your inbox daily .
News from the future , hand over to your present .
You May Also Like
