Science

You Probably Can’t Guess the Topic of This Recently Deciphered 18th Century Document

Researchers Decode Encrypted Document of Secret 18th Century German Society

(Image: University of Southern California)

Mysterious symbols and Roman letters adding up to more than 75,000 characters and 105 pages bound by gold and green paper baffled a team researchers for months. It is the Copiale Cipher, which found in East Berlin at the end of the Cold War.

Two Swedish scientists and one from the University of Southern California worked to crack the code from January to April. And what did it reveal?  Drum roll please.

The cipher comes from a secret German society of … eye enthusiasts? This seems a bit anticlimactic when you realize that the researchers went through more than 80 languages and met several dead ends before deciphering the document, which holds rituals of eye surgery and other ophthalmological information.

But, the University of Southern California News reports that Kevin Knight, as saying the process for how they cracked the code is more important than what the document contained:

This opens up a window for people who study the history of ideas and the history of secret societies,” said computer scientist Kevin Knight of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, part of the international team that finally cracked the cipher. “Historians believe that secret societies have had a role in revolutions, but all that is yet to be worked out, and a big part of the reason is because so many documents are enciphered.”

[...]

“When you get a new code and look at it, the possibilities are nearly infinite,” Knight said. “Once you come up with a hypothesis based on your intuition as a human, you can turn over a lot of grunt work to the computer.”

Watch Knight explain the process:

As Knight says, they first thought the Roman letters were the actual code, while the mysterious symbols were filler. The complete opposite was true: the Roman characters represented spaces between encoded words. Once they started seeing patterns in the symbols, they began associated them with letters or words.

Researchers Decode Encrypted Document of Secret 18th Century German Society

This is the cover of the Copiale Cipher. (Image: University of Southern California)

USC News reports that Knight is now using this skill to reveal coded messages sent by the Zodiac Killer, a murderer who sent taunting messages to the press but was caught, and “Kryptos”, a message carved on a statue at CIA headquarters.

[H/T Fox News]

Comments (54)

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  • Rusty Shackleford
    Posted on October 29, 2011 at 8:52am

    All of the stuff about eyes and surgery is just to through you off…what it really says is much more sinister. Using the highly classified decoader ring from my youth, I have determined the true message.

    Be @ure 2 Drink UR OValtinE….

    Son of a Bi^ch!

    Report Post » Rusty Shackleford  
    • dagneytaggart
      Posted on October 29, 2011 at 10:08am

      Roflmao

      Report Post »  
    • powhatan
      Posted on October 29, 2011 at 8:17pm

      hahahahahaha

      Report Post » powhatan  
    • The10thAmendment
      Posted on October 31, 2011 at 5:48am

      That was hilarious. Well played.

      But the reason so many ancient “societies” encoded their work was because much of what we consider practical science today was once considered alchemy, and often times witchcraft.

      Report Post » The10thAmendment  
    • hamptonsurfer
      Posted on October 31, 2011 at 8:22am

      hahahahahahahaha.

      Report Post »  
  • Salamander
    Posted on October 28, 2011 at 6:36pm

    And, the Eyes have it!

    Report Post »  
  • Firebrand
    Posted on October 28, 2011 at 11:04am

    These researchers should move on to the Zodiac killer ciphers.

    Report Post » Firebrand  
  • garygromele
    Posted on October 28, 2011 at 10:07am

    OK, I (Eye) give up…

    Report Post » garygromele  
  • Starkadder
    Posted on October 28, 2011 at 3:43am

    Isnt the symbol for the Alumnati an eye? Check again, perhaps there is a code within the cypher.

    Report Post » Starkadder  
  • ejbonk
    Posted on October 28, 2011 at 2:11am

    Very Interesting,sort of,maybe not. Who the Hell Knows.

    Report Post »  
  • jmcenanly
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 7:50pm

    Aside from the distracting filler, the cipher seems like a simple substitution cipher, like this one
    http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/AdveDanc.shtml

    Report Post » jmcenanly  
  • hogorina
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 6:55pm

    OUR REPUBLIC HANGS BY A THREAD
    WE THE PEOPLE;

    WITH A SACRED HONOR PROTECT OUR BELOVED REPUBLIC. THIS SHOULD BE ACCOMPLISDED HONESTLY; OF COURSE. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE PRESUPPOSES THAT MANKIND ARE MORE DISPOSED TO SUFFER EVILS WHILE EVILS ARE SUFFERABLE, RATHER THAN ABOLSHING THE FORMS MOST ACCUSTOMED. THIS REPUBLIC IS EXPERENCING ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT TIMES IN ITS HISTORY. OUR PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LED ASTRAY, BEING HAULED BY THE NOSE THROUGH A NATIONAL, BUT ALIEN INFLUENCED SYSTEM, THAT THIS GRAND OLD NATION SHOULD BE DISOLVED
    BY ALIEN PREDITORY INFLUENCES, NOT COMPREHENDED BY THE MOST ELITE AND EDUCATED WITIN OUR NATIONAL SOCIETY.

    FRAKLY SPEAKING, AMERICA PRESENTLY IS POLITICALLED DOOMED AND IS IN THE HANDS OF EXPANDING MOBS, IN INFLUENCING THE EVER EXPLOSIVE WELFARE STATE. ASIDE THIS, WE HAVE A MASTER CRIMINAL NETWORK THAT HAS ITS PAWS IN ALL WALKS OF LIFE. THIS ELEMENT IS INFLUENCING PUBLIC OPINION THROUGH THE NATIONAL NEWS MEDIA AND HOLLYWOOD.

    INDEED, WE ARE HARBORING A WELL CONCEALED AND HIDDEN fRANKENSTEIN, LURKING IN THE BACK-GROUND OF CONGRESS, OF WHICH IS COMPOSED OF WELL TRAINED ANTI-SOCIAL REVOLUTIONARIES, A HYDRA-HADED MONSTER OF WHICH WELTERS IN THE ANCIENT POLITICAL PHILOSOPHIES OF ORIENTAL FUNDAMENTALISM SINCE THE TEMPLE OF GOD WAS DESTROYED IN 70 AD.

    THE NATIONS OF ABRAHAM, ISRAEL, THAT MAKE UP OUR REPUBLIC, BECAUSE THE MASTER KEY TO WORLD HISTORY IS INTERTWINED WITHIN ALL NATIONS COMBINED, IN MAINTAINING A REPUBLIC. IN ESSENCE, THE MAS

    Report Post »  
  • Lisa Caroline
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 4:31pm

    The Germans created a secret society intended to keep eye surgery from the rest of the world, or at least make it so that only German doctors could perform it. That’s not crazy at all.

    Report Post » Lisa Caroline  
    • hogorina
      Posted on October 27, 2011 at 10:00pm

      THE RIDDLE OF THOUGHT CONTROL

      Three thousands years past a Man strolled along the
      ancient city of Jerusalem. This was a good man as
      history has shown. This strange personality had been
      proclaiming that so-many people would dare listen or
      comprehend just what was this individual was about.
      This so-called messenger, stranger, from whence
      unknown– this being was well versed in verbalism, and
      straight-forth proclaiming his enemies with the most
      stringent adjectives. Still, the higher ruling
      element of this Holy city turned a deaf ear. This
      Wanderer about the streets of Jerusalem openly wept,
      because specific mankind in this man’s mind knew that
      many could not see and not comprehend, while a
      multitude stood amazed. In 70 A.D. this city was
      destroyed because of the fact that one lonely
      individual was not allowed to speak;
      and the America today is headed in the direction
      towards mass destruction because, collectively,
      citizens are not allowed free speech even though our
      constitution honors expression of opinion reflecting
      free speech in a democratic system;
      one should never forget that good Man that was nailed
      to a tree, for wanting to speak in the name of one
      that sent him on a mission. In reality this lonely
      messenger dies for free speech, as gold and silver
      mattered nothing to Him. This great Man was trying to
      warn the people of pressing events and the Supreme
      Court of Palestine put him to death. Dr. Sigmund
      Freud would

      Report Post »  
  • qzak491
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 4:08pm

    Look at the handwritting it’s beautiful, look at it the lines, arrow straight and the consistent quality is amazing. Can you imagine that being done today. This is a work or art.

    Report Post »  
  • MissKitty37
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 2:57pm

    So, why was it written in code?

    Report Post »  
    • piper60
      Posted on October 28, 2011 at 9:39am

      So non-union eye docs could not see their s.o.p.’s.

      Report Post » piper60  
  • sonofeire
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 2:48pm

    And how can they be absolutely sure that they are interpreting the symbols correctly ?

    Report Post »  
  • havsumtea
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 2:29pm

    It’s all perfectly clear to me now………I think.

    Report Post » havsumtea  
  • Jaye Byrd
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 2:17pm

    This secret society was truely visionary.

    Report Post » Jaye Byrd  
  • hi
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 12:54pm

    My senior is applying to USC. Is that an okay one or a lib one like Columbia?

    Report Post » hi  
    • BarbieDoll
      Posted on October 27, 2011 at 3:04pm

      The are all the same. You are wasting your money unless your child is being prepared to work at something everybody needs — like a doctor or an engineer.

      Report Post » BarbieDoll  
    • Dismayed Veteran
      Posted on October 27, 2011 at 4:06pm

      Get your senior into a military academy.

      Report Post » Dismayed Veteran  
    • wayne on the plains
      Posted on October 27, 2011 at 4:14pm

      It may seem like all Universities are the same, but you will find in more conservative areas most of the faculty are relatively conservative. I’m a professor in Texas, I watch Glenn Beck and read this site, and I’m in about the middle of the pack politically at my University. Southern California is not a conservative area, though.

      Report Post »  
    • G.W. Dobbs
      Posted on October 28, 2011 at 8:27am

      Any University which does NOT seek FIRST The Kingdom of God and TEACH this is a waste of Time (youth is wasted on the young) and Money. Computer assisted self education and Knowlege of the Bible is the “Way”; JESUS said, “I AM the Way, the TRUTH and the Life”. All are “dead” Spititually
      who do not understand. Pray with your young man that the Holy Spirit guide and direct his steps. Keep him OUT of the “World” of the flesh and IN the Kingdom of God which is NOW availabe to those who seek HIM.

      Report Post »  
  • steve_o
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 12:09pm

    It was not about eye surgery. It was a secret society who’s initiation included being asked to read a blank sheet of paper, then given eyeglasses and asked again, then eyes washed and asked again, then finally the ritual ‘surgery’ of pulling out an eyebrow hair. The english translation (from german) is online if you search. It does seem like a lot of trouble to go through, though.

    Report Post »  
  • americathebankrupt
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 11:38am

    Can I geta goverment grant for that?

    Report Post » americathebankrupt  
  • mike_trivisonno
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 9:21am

    Ritual of eye surgery? Creepy.

    Report Post » mike_trivisonno  
  • Mullet Man
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 8:59am

    The Zodiac Killer was caught? That’s news to me.

    Report Post »  
    • I Luv America
      Posted on October 27, 2011 at 3:28pm

      I think you are right – the Zodiac killer hasn’t been caught. The sentence is a little confusing. Maybe it means the codes messages to the police were deciphered.

      Report Post »  
    • Mountain Mama Martha
      Posted on October 27, 2011 at 10:09pm

      Prime suspect Arthur Leigh Allen
      Main article: Arthur Leigh Allen

      Arthur Leigh Allen was the only suspect in the Zodiac murders to be served search warrants by police. He was never charged with any Zodiac-related crime and his fingerprints did not match those left by the killer of taxi cab driver Paul Stine.In 1991, 22 years after the shootings, survivor Michael Mageau identified Allen as the man who shot him, from a photo lineup of 1968 driver’s licenses. Mageau stated he had never been shown a photo line up prior to that appointment in 1991. Allen, who suffered from diabetes, died on August 26, 1992, from kidney failure.

      So, the case of the Zodiac killer still remains open since Allen has not been definitely proved to be or proved not to be the killer.

      Report Post » Mountain Mama Martha  
  • Quiata
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 7:46am

    Oh come on you guys…this is neat stuff! And it is a great question to ask: WHY were so many groups at that time concerned about secrecy? Fascinating!

    Report Post »  
  • Lee_in_PA
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 7:24am

    Well, I will sleep better tonight knowing THIS is resolved.

    Report Post » Lee_in_PA  
  • BurntHills
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 1:11am

    how much taxpayer money did THAT grant use up.

    Report Post » BurntHills  
  • JMorcan
    Posted on October 27, 2011 at 1:07am

    So why was this material encrypted?

    Report Post » JMorcan  
  • JUSTANOTHEROPINION
    Posted on October 26, 2011 at 11:58pm

    Frankly, this falls in the so what and who cares catagory.

    Report Post »  
  • Gen.Washington
    Posted on October 26, 2011 at 11:33pm

    I see.

    Report Post »  
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