The Voynich Manuscript Decoded - Have We Finally Solved the Most Mysterious Book in the World?

The Why Files: Operation Podcast

The Why Files

Science, Life Sciences, Documentary, Society & Culture, Fiction, Science Fiction

4.8 • 9.4K Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2022

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For 600 years the Voynich Manuscript has stumped scholars, cryptographers, physicists, and computer scientists. Now, a researcher in Germany has claimed to have finally decoded the most mysterious book in the world. The Voynich Manuscript is a 240-page medieval codex written in an indecipherable language, full of bizarre drawings of strange plants, astrological symbols and... lots of... naked women. The Voynich Manuscript defies classification and has also defied comprehension. Cryptologists, FBI operatives, respected medievalists, mathematic and scientific scholars, skilled linguists... they've all been left stumped. Even Alan Turing took a crack at it and came up short. It's written from left to right and although it's never been "officially" deciphered, there's definitely a structure to it. Researchers have concluded that the language has 20 to 25 distinct letters but nobody has been able to figure out how the letters fit together. According to cryptanalyst Elizabeth Friedman in 1962, anyone who attempts to translate it is "doomed to utter frustration." Let's find out why. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thewhyfiles/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	For 600 years, the Voynage manuscript has stumped scholars, cryptographers, physicists,
0:05.3	computer scientists.
0:06.3	Pretty much everybody.
0:07.5	Now a researcher in Germany has claimed to have finally decoded the most mysterious book
0:11.6	in the world.
0:12.6	He did?
0:13.6	What did he say?
0:15.0	Well, welcome to the Y-Files, where smart folks like us come to laugh and learn.
0:23.8	Have the secrets of the Voynage manuscript finally been revealed?
0:26.7	Well, a German egetologist claims he solved it.
0:29.3	He thinks so, but first some background.
0:33.3	The Voynage manuscript is a 240-page medieval codex written in an indecisurable language
0:38.5	full of bizarre drawings of strange plants, astrological symbols and lots and lots of
0:44.8	naked women.
0:45.8	Oh, is there a centipold?
0:47.3	Actually, there is.
0:48.3	Spicy!
0:49.3	The Voynage manuscript defies classification and has also defied comprehension.
0:53.9	Everybody's taken a shot at this, cryptologists, FBI operatives, respected medievalists,
0:59.0	mathematic and scientific scholars, skilled linguists, they've all been left stumped.
1:03.5	Even Alan Turing took a crack at it and came up short.
1:06.6	I'm so sorry.
	...

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