Identifying Anomalies in the Voynich

Captain’s Blog 3/7/2022

The Anomalies of the Voynich are by far, to me, the most important aspect of the cipher. They are the hardest to identify. Only until this past week did our linguistics team (me) understand the full breadth of what the anomalies look like and represent. When I was first told of the Voynich before I had looked at it the reasoning behind no one be able to translate a 15th century document made me immediately say, “its probably math then, we should be capable of translating languages from that time period.” Seriously, we can figure out hieroglyphics but not the Voynich? My first thought has proven to be true. Linguistical anomalies I did not understand where because they are math equations, precursors to Calculus, and the foundation in which Newton built modern day mathematics.

Our approach to solving the Voynich was to employ a blinded test. The linguists and the mathematicians where not allowed to view results during the initial phases of our work. This was a valuable and important step to ensuring that the linguistics and math where not leading. However, the linguistic team (me) did not take advanced calculus in a Masters Program. So, understanding math equations in the anomalies was misunderstood until just recently when the blinded tests stopped. In all only 13 words will change from our previously posted translations, though they are vitally important in understanding the complexity of the math equations on each folio.

How to identify an linguistic anomaly. #1: It is not an English/Scots word. #2: does not make since when repeated on other pages. #3 Symbol only used once in the Voynich. #4 Abbreviations are not words they are math equations.

On Folio 116v it lists all the aspects of the cipher. The first line being “Curse to have and take the cipher.” The ending line is an epic seaman’s warning “By way of trickery conceal the row. A person that mimics given is stealing oh.” The cipher is listed as this:

§ Transformation
§ of the appearance of looking strange
§ reduction of math to a lower degree
§ visually unpleasant
§ regarding
§ astronomical units
§ riddles
§ gardens
§ abbreviations
§ to map using mete’s and bounds
§ cartesian coordinates, representing horizontal position
§ set in motion cartesian coordinates
§ yield
§ amount
§ abbreviation of milli-arc-second
§ in accordance with
§ the written word (oration).

To yield is the most vital aspect of the Voynich and cipher. The Voynich in it’s clever wisdom will use words in the way of a legal document would, it will define the meaning of the words used, if the meaning of the word is not listed. In a legal sense all definitions should be applied. For this post we will focus on #1 and #3. The other meanings are discussed in great detail in my Book “The Lost Language of Braveheart.”

1. (mathematics) To produce as a result.
   Adding 3 and 4 yields a result of 7.
2. (linguistics) To produce a particular sound as the result of a sound law.
   Indo-European p- yields Germanic f-.
3. (rare) To admit to be true; to concede; to allow.
4. (obsolete) To pay, give in payment; repay, recompense; reward; requite.
5. To furnish; to afford; to render; to give forth. 
6. To give way; to allow another to pass first.
   Yield the right of way to pedestrians.
7. To give as required; to surrender, relinquish or capitulate. 
   They refuse to yield to the enemy.

milli-arc-second: A unit of angle equal to one thousandth of an arcsecond (used especially in astronomy).

So far the following are examples of how to spot a linguistic abbreviation of mathematical equation.

ueir: Scottish Fish Dam in the shape of a V. Used as a riddle to express the math equation orifice plate. An orifice plate is a device used for measuring flow rate, for reducing pressure or for restricting flow (in the latter two cases it is often called a restriction plate). In the Voynich the equation is used to identify wind and sea flow rates in jet streams/ocean currents.

sa: math abbreviation for secant arc. A secant is a line that intersects a circle in exactly two points. When a tangent and a secant, two secants, or two tangents intersect outside a circle then the measure of the angle formed is one-half the positive difference of the measures of the intercepted arcs.

Sum Atom sa: A math equation used throughout the Voynich that represents the equation: N (atom) secant arc = integral interval. Pre-Calculus Integration “The first documented systematic technique capable of determining integrals is the method of exhaustion of the ancient Greek astronomer Eudoxus (ca. 370 BC), which sought to find areas and volumes by breaking them up into an infinite number of divisions for which the area or volume was known. This method was further developed and employed by Archimedes in the 3rd century BC and used to calculate the area of a circle, the surface area and volume of a sphere, area of an ellipse, the area under a parabola, the volume of a segment of a paraboloid of revolution, the volume of a segment of a hyperboloid of revolution, and the area of a spiral.”

The Voynich goes to great lengths to hide math. Below are but a few examples of how mathematical abbreviations in the Voynich work:

s: speed, momentum, velocity
va: velocity of the orifice
verese: exact velocity
vsa: variation secant arc
vla: variation of the length of an arc
(v)tom: variation secant spread, used as a sun angular measurement
(v)pasom: variation spread, an area measurement
(v)tua: used in calculus as an approximate ≈ In mathematics, a linear approximation is an approximation of a general function using a linear function. They are widely used in the method of finite differences to produce first order methods for solving or approximating solutions to equations.
(v)tuer: vector reset to zero. Vector, in mathematics, a quantity that has both magnitude and direction but not position.
(v)tuieir: change in velocity in the orifice plate.
(l)uia: length of the way
(l)va: length of the cord of the arc
(l)vier: length of the emulation (approximate)
(l)vesora: length of the containers opening, the neck down length of the orifice.

Other ways that the Voynich hides math is a Viking style. Vikings hid math in their compasses, red snake maps on rock art, and the way they named their Gods. For instance, Thor is pronounced /θɔːr/: In math that would be Theta * pi * radius = arc length. In Germanic Paganism it was called the “Way of Thor.”

Other anomalies are cleverly hidden symbols that are upside down.
– Delta Function on Folio 29 v second to last symbol.
– Hourglass Symbol on Folio 28v, last line fourth word. Meaning “passing of time.”
– The Phoenician Symbol for pi on Folio 4r, second line 7th word
– 43 degrees North on Folio 42v, second line, hidden above the 6th word.