Cracking the Quicksilver Code

wka writes "Todd Garrison describes in detail how he solved the cryptographic puzzle promoting Neal Stephenson's forthcoming book Quicksilver, and the reward for his effort. Stephenson himself calls Garrison's story 'remarkable' because Garrison was completely unfamiliar with the system of writing (Real Character) used in the puzzle. Also, Stephenson notes that the system and its creator play roles in The Baroque Cycle."

Comments

Re:Wilkins' "universal" language is English?

[Cthefuture]

I think you're on the right track but what's so different about this language versus any other language? You still need a translation table from your native language to this universal language.

I could just as easily say "English is the universal language". So the concept of "good" in German translates to the symbol "good" in my new universal language.

Some languages have concepts that can't be easily explained in another language. What would make Real Character any easier to translate to and from? It has a limited vocabulary just like any other language. Or does it?

I'm still baffled.

Re:Deciphering and the hacker mystique

[nacturation]

I just finished reading the book Idoru by William Gibson. What an utter piece of cybertrash. While reading it, I thought I was learning impaired because the story was presented in such a disjointed fashion and the characters are all very one-dimensional. The writing was horrible! I've since started re-reading the novel Gai-Jin by James Clavell and oh, what a relief! Quality writing *does* exist out there and, no -- I'm not learning impaired. ;-)

I previously read Snow Crash by Stephenson and found the book to be very juvenile. There were some neat concepts in there, but the writing style is more appropriate for a thirteen year old boy. The characters were also relatively one-dimensional.

Maybe I've been spoiled by too much quality writing. :)

not really

[autopr0n]

Actualy, it was an idiographic language, meant to reveal ideas, rather then hide them.

Re:If it ain't Baroque...

[gidds]

I imagine that in British English, "baroque" is pronounced "buh-rahk", sort of rhyming with "Bach" or "clock"?

To rhyme with 'clock'. ('Bach' is pronounced completely differently, with the vowel of 'bath', and a proper Germanic 'chhh' final consonant.)

Or at least, to rhyme with how we say 'clock'... which of course doesn't tell you very much about how we say that word, either! (It's at times like this that I wish I knew the International Phonetic Alphabet...) In British English, 'rock' and 'clock' etc. have a low, short vowel that's not much like the long, open one I've heard in American English.