Search query: Ancient manuscript deciphering
Video title:  some mystical elements as well. Unfortunately, that’s just about all we
know about it, despite decades of attempting to decipher it. Most experts believe that it is likely written
using a substitution code, wherein each letter of the alphabet is substituted with a different
symbol. Unfortunately, researchers continue to struggle
to find what letters they initially were, and thus, what language it originated from. Some believe that it is further encoded using
anagrams, mixing up the letters of each word, although this is a point of contention amongst
researchers. This would make it even more difficult to
crack, and would explain the difficulty we’ve had in decoding it. As far as the use of the text, many agree
that it is likely medical in nature, due to the categories into which it is believed to
be divided. It bears a striking resemblance to certain
known Latin medical texts from around the same time, with some even arguing that it
was a plagiarism of said texts. Some make further arguments as to the involvement
of alchemy and astrology in the text, but this is little more than educated speculation. There has also been a good deal of discussion
as to the author of the manuscript. Much of this is based on the rather unique
skills and knowledge of the author, as well as some he-said she-said correspondence in
the form of letters from the time. The most popular explanation is that it was
written by Roger Bacon, a Franciscan friar who happened to be a polymath. The many languages of the polymath would certainly
come in handy when composing a manuscript in a cryptic code. Some think it could actually be the work of
Italian engineer Giovanna Fontana. This is because many of the drawings in the
manuscript resembled known works of Fontana. He also used code in his own work, and so
would be well-equipped for the writing of the manuscript. Still others believe that it was Voynich himself
who wrote it, in an attempt to pass it off as Bacon’s work, in order to sell it and
make a great deal of money. As a bookseller, he would likely have had
the experience and skills necessary to make the forgery. For a time, this was discounted, since the
carbon dating of the manuscript would have required him to have access to a great deal
of unused parchment from the 15th century. However, with the recently discovered forgery
of the 2000 year old Dead Sea Scrolls, it seems that the idea of Voynich forging the
manuscript isn’t as ridiculous as we once believed. Unfortunately, recent decades have brought
us little more than speculation and vague inferences. However, with the advancements in AI codebreaking
of late, many believe the solution has never