200-Year-Old Cipher Finally Cracked 141
Posted
by
timothy
from the castle-aaaaaaaagh dept.
from the castle-aaaaaaaagh dept.
Attila Dimedici writes "A code expert just cracked a code used by a friend of Thomas Jefferson in a letter written to Jefferson some 200 years ago. This code is fairly easy to crack using a computer, but extremely difficult without one. I think it would have been much harder if the author had not included an indication as to what code algorithm he used in the letter accompanying the coded message."
tl;dr (Score:5, Informative)
The message says:
"In Congress, July Fourth, one thousand seven hundred and seventy six. A declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. When in the course of human events..."
just cracked?? (Score:5, Informative)
A code expert just cracked a code
The article says "After unlocking its hidden message in 2007". This is hardly 'just'. The solution was more recently published though. Interesting article.
Re:tl;dr (Score:2, Informative)
Make the pie higher
I think we all agree, the past is over.
This is still a dangerous world.
It's a world of madmen
And uncertainty
And potential mental losses.
Rarely is the question asked
Is our children learning?
Will the highways of the internet
Become more few?
How many hands have I shaked?
They misunderestimate me.
I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity.
I know that the human being and the fish
Can coexist.
Families is where our nation finds hope
Where our wings take dream.
Put food on your family!
Knock down the tollbooth!
Vulcanize society!
Make the pie higher!
Make the pie higher!
-art major who reads too much slashdot
Re:Wake me when the Voynich is cracked (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Wake me when the Voynich is cracked (Score:3, Informative)
I quite agree. And Japanese isn't even the worst. There is a writing style where you alternatively write right-to-left then left-to-right. The dead language of Easter Island, Rongo-Rongo, goes one worse and even requires you to turn the page upside-down on alternate lines. (That's the ONLY thing anyone can understand of it.)
The Wikipedia article states that some words are repeated three times, which strongly suggests that words can be modified not only by other words but by groups of other words. Quite a number of languages also have special symbols (determinants) which can completely alter the meaning of the word they're associated with.
Others liberally mix alphabetic, syllabic and iconographic symbols - modern English is a good example of a language that does this. In some languages, the same character can be used in any or all of these forms, depending on the characters around them.
I suspect you are correct in your conclusion that it was some (alas failed) attempt to preserve a dead language, which may also include my idea that such a language was being used as a secret language but is not restricted to that theory.
It would be interesting to know which language it was, and where, but I'm not sure we'll ever get beyond the (fairly wide-ranging) language family already guessed at.
Not a strong cipher. (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Contents of message (Score:3, Informative)