A COMPUTER ANALYSIS BY
ALLAN WEBBER OF 340,000 WORDS FOUND IN WELL KNOWN TEXTS.
This series of papers shows my efforts to establish a
set of
measures for gauging the reality of anagrammatic coding. Hopefully
it will prove useful to all those interested in coding.
In
Analysis Stage
1
I examined the statistical evidence
from
a variety of ancient texts.
This second stage examines patterns between the larger
anagrams found in the texts.
This exercise was designed with the aim of
definitively testing Nostradamus' text for coding.
In order to investigate the anagrams further I
have concentrated on the longer words where their coding could be expected
to give a higher ratio of deliberate words to accidental words.
I have concentrated on those found in the English
word
list for the
following reasons:
- It includes many French words
- Many technical words are included in this list whereas they are
absent from the shorter French list.
- Technical words tend to be identical or near identical to those in
French.
In order to avoid contaminating the output
I have had a third person
place all the words of 14 letters or more into categories. In doing this
they were unaware of which text was the source of the word. I have also
generated a random sample of same size from all the words of 14 or more
letters contained in the data base and the same person has placed these
into their categories.
Many of the words have been placed into more than one category and the
analyst was able to create her own categories where she thought it useful.
This same person researched the meaning of difficult words that were
included in the output. A comment made by the researcher was that many of
these large words in the data-base are of dubious merit, being unnecessary
extensions of words where better ones already exist. It is unlikely that
any coding would be built on a large proportion of dubious words and
should offer scope for narrowing the analysis.
The analyst was my wife Lynn and I am extremely grateful for her help
in this aspect and her many useful perspectives on the results I have
uncovered.
Lynn
is
a
long-time
sceptic
of
my
research
into
Nostradamus
and
therefore
brings
no
biases
that
would
favour
my
findings.
Of the 340,000 words in the data-base over 36,000 of them are greater
than 13 letters in length. And of these 36,000 there are 332 of them found
in all the texts (there are also 16 repetitions). This high number came as
a surprise to me and highlights how great is the need for a guiding
discipline for any person seeking to claim that a text contains anagrams.
Difficult and meaningful anagrams can be expected to be found in any
lengthy text without their difficulty implying anything about the
probability of them being deliberate.
I am interested in the distribution of the words between the different
texts and whether they show any indications of being thematic. If so I am
interested what the numbers can tell me about the
texts
in
which
they
are
found. In pursuing
this I also have to know whether it is an aberration coming from bias in
the
word-base
or
through
the
selection
process.
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ANAGRAMS
A word group is
considered to be an anagram of another
word group when it consists of
exactly the same letters.
The following is an
example of
a complete
set
of anagrams:
Although having the same letters the following are NOT
ANAGRAMS
It can be seen that only a limited number of the possible
letter permutations are words in their own right.
(NOTE: The number of possible permutations
grows quite dramatically as the
number
of
letters
increases)
Further examples of anagrams:
- withdraw, "draw with"
- Disaster, "ass tried"
- attention, "into a tent"
-
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Stage 1 of this analysis indicated that there was a
higher ratio of long words to be found in Nostradamus' text than in that of all
the others analysed. This is set out in the following table which also shows the
ratio of words in each text that were able to be classified. The expected ratio
is 2 to 1 because there are twice as many letters in my Nostradamus source than
there are in total in the others). The actual ratio for long words is over 3.5
to 1 which is nearly twice that expected.
Long word Anagram
Comparison.
|
Number
able to classify |
% |
Nostradamus |
310 |
61 |
Other
Sources |
92 |
18 |
Total |
508 |
100 |
Note:
Not
all
anagram-words
are
able
to
be
classified
because
the
word
lists
are
as
compiled
by
third
parties
on
the
internet
and
don't
comprise
a
100%
of
words
found
in
dictionaries
(106
of
the
508
total
are
unable
to
be
found
in
standard
dictionaries).
There are two
tables given below showing the theme and the count for Nostradamus and the
Other sources.
Long word Anagram
Comparison by Topic- Table 1
|
Emotions |
Medical |
Politics |
Language |
Religion |
Military |
Plants |
Nostradamus |
46 |
37 |
35 |
27 |
21 |
18 |
16 |
Other
Sources |
9 |
13 |
11 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
Total |
55 |
50 |
46 |
33 |
27 |
23 |
20 |
RATIO
Nost / Others |
5.1 |
3.2 |
3.1 |
4.5 |
3.5 |
3.6 |
4.0 |
Long word Anagram
Comparison by Topic- Table 2
|
Prophecy |
Machines |
Disaster |
Classify |
Maths |
Commerce |
History |
Geology |
Nostradamus |
10 |
9 |
8 |
9 |
7 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
Other
Sources |
2 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Total |
12 |
12 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
RATIO
Nost / Others |
5.0 |
3.0 |
8.0 |
>10 |
3.5 |
>10 |
>10 |
>10 |
The
above
topics
are
those
in
which
anagrams
in
Nostradamus
show
the
largest
deviation
from
expectation.
The majority of the
other
categories
examined
also
show a bias towards
Nostradamus text.
Some
of the topics that don't show any
strong
leanings are
SEX
7:3, BIOLOGY
13:8
CHEMISTRY 13:10, PHYSICS 3:6,
EDUCATION 3:6.
There are many topics that don't appear at all. These include MUSIC/
POETRY/ ARTS, ASTRONOMY, CLIMATOLOGY, TIME / CALENDARS and LEADERSHIP /
KINGSHIP.
It is possible to draw the following conclusions from these tables:
- the data is not evenly distributed but clustered around several
themes
- the anagrams from
Nostradamus' text form stronger clusters than
the other texts
Clustering of words is only a starting
point
and I am interested in
whether they seem associative, i.e. related to each other. I am also
interested in whether they are strong or weak words i.e meaningful or
nebulous. I therefore present some of the clusters of words found under
several of the themes.
The first cluster is that for PROPHECY. This list turns out to have a
high degree of association. The words for Nostradamus also have another
distinctive character- they actually relate to topics mentioned by
Nostradamus. 'Quincentenaries' , an anniversary after 500 years found at
VIII.84 L.3
relates to
a
line
in
his
prophecies
"III.94 line 1 De cinq cens ans plus compte l'on tiendra
"
(Five hundred years years more they will
keep count of the one)
And the same applies to
Tercentenaries
since X.100 L.2
says "Le pempotam des ans plus de trois cens"
(The all-powerful one for more than three hundred
years)
and
the whole
anagram of 'Tercentenaries' is found in 2 places in
Nostradamus' text ,
one is IX.96 Line 1 and
the other is IX.38 L.4.
NOSTRADAMUS-Prophecy |
Meaning |
CONSIDERATIONS |
deliberations,
payments |
EXTRASENSORIAL |
pertaining
to extrasensory |
MARVELLOUSNESS |
wondrousness |
PREASCERTAINED |
ascertained
beforehand |
PREDECLARATION |
declaration
made beforehand |
PREINFORMATION |
information
given earlier |
PROPHETICALNESS |
being
prophetical |
QUINCENTENARIES |
five
hundredth anniversaries |
TERCENTENARIES |
three
hundredth anniversaries |
UNPRECAUTIONED |
unforewarned |
OTHER
TEXTS |
Meaning |
PENETRABLENESS |
capable
of being penetrated |
PREINSINUATIVE |
insinuated
beforehand |
The second cluster I present is that of religion. This too shows some
highly specific words such as Archdeaconries,
Pentacostalism, and
Evangelistries, Reincarnations. It also includes a most distinctive
reference that of Tetragrammaton, an aspect of religious naming-code that
applies to many religions. Some terms such as unalterableness and
marvellousness are much vaguer and clumsy. However to me they seem to form
a reasonably powerful set of words for
an
author
to
talk
about the presence of a God
and the spreading of
a
sacred
message.
NOSTRADAMUS-Religion |
Meaning |
|
|
PNEUMATOLOGIES |
studies
of spiritual beings |
REDEMPTIONLESS |
without
redemption |
SUPERSACERDOTAL |
super
priestly |
NONDESECRATION |
not
desecration |
SUPERCELESTIAL |
higher
than celestial, superangelic |
ADULTERATENESS |
tainted
with adultery |
EVANGELISTARIES |
passages
from gospels |
ANTIMODERNNESS |
against
modernity |
TETRAGRAMMATON/S |
anagram
names
of god
from
JHVH |
INTERCESSORIAL |
intercessory |
SUPERESSENTIAL |
essential
above others |
MARVELLOUSNESS |
wondrousness |
PENTECOSTALISM |
Christian
sect |
UNALTERABLENESS |
unchangeable |
REINCARNATIONS |
rebirths |
PRESENTIALNESS |
implication
of actual presence |
ANTICEREMONIALIST |
against
ceremony |
VOLUNTARINESSES |
acts
done willingly |
ARCHDEACONRIES |
offices
of archdeacon |
SUPERREGENERATION |
extra
regeneration |
|
|
|
|
OTHER
TEXTS |
Meaning |
|
|
COUNTERTHOUGHT |
opposing
thought |
PROCONDEMNATION |
in
favour of condemnation |
DEMATERIALIZES |
disappears |
PROCEREMONIALIST |
in
favour of ceremony |
INTERPELLATORS |
authoritative
questioners |
UNCHANGEABLENESS |
non-changeableness |
The other oddity of these two sets of clusters are they emphasise
topics that anyone could readily believe might be the themes of any code
in
Nostradamus'
text
since they focus on
the
art
of
prophecy
and
the
foundation
of
religious
ideas.
One other cluster that caught my attention was the one on plants for I
had not been expecting this theme to be prominent. It seems to be drawing
on a description of the growth of a plant or set of plants.
In
reality
I
shouldn't
have
been
surprised
since
herb-craft
and
plant-craft
were
essential
parts
of
the
armoury
of
all
physicians
of
the
16th
C.
NOSTRADAMUS-Plants |
Meaning |
CHLORELLACEOUS |
pertaining
to unicellular green algae |
DIVERSIFLORATE |
having
a variety of flowers |
FERTILISATIONAL |
pertaining
to fertilization |
GRAMINEOUSNESS |
characteristic
of grasses |
HAPLOCAULESCENT |
single
aboveground stem |
INTRASEGMENTAL |
within
segments |
QUINQUEPETALOID |
having
five petals |
LUTEOVIRESCENT |
yellowy
green |
MONGRELISATION |
making
mongrel in race nature or character |
PROCREATIVENESS |
fecundity |
OLEAGINOUSNESS |
oily |
OVERMATURENESS |
usually
over-maturity /over-ripeness |
SINUATOSERRATED |
coiled
and serrated |
SUPERSEMINATOR |
sower
of seed over previous seed |
UNDERSPREADING |
spreading
under |
OTHER
TEXTS |
Meaning |
CERATOSPONGIAN |
pertaining to
order of sponges |
HETEROMORPHOUS |
differing
from normal type |
PONTEDERIACEOUS |
related
to bog plants |
UNDERVINEDRESSER |
specialist
vine dresser |
Within
those
classified
as
Medical terms there seems to a wide
group
of illnesses relating to sexuality, digestion,
nervous
disorders
plus muscle and bone
tissue.
NOSTRADAMUS-Medical |
Meaning |
|
|
ANELECTROTONUS |
decreased
irritabilty of a nerve |
PREDETRIMENTAL |
causing
harm beforehand |
ARTIFICIALNESS |
artificiality |
PREMATURENESSES |
unexpected
earlinesses |
CAPILLICULTURE |
treatment
for baldness |
PREQUARANTINED |
quarantined
beforehand |
CARDIOPUNCTURE |
heart
puncture |
PSEUDONARCOTIC |
non
narcotic sedative |
CATHARTICALNESS |
function
of purgative medicine |
REINNERVATIONS |
restorations
of paralysed muscles |
CONTRACEPTIONS |
preventions
of conception |
REINOCULATIONS |
further
injections |
COUNTEROPENING |
second
opening made to drain an abcess |
RESPONSIVENESS |
reactiveness |
DELETERIOUSNESS |
harmfulness |
SALUTARINESSES |
healthiness |
DETRIMENTALNESS |
injuriousness |
SCLERATOGENOUS |
producing
sclerotic tissue |
ENTEROHELCOSIS |
enterelcosis
is ulceration of intestine |
SEMICONTRACTION |
part
contraction |
ENTEROMESENTERIC |
pertaining to
intestines |
SEMITENDINOSUS |
a
muscle in the thigh |
FERTILISATIONAL |
pertaining to
fertilization |
SPINOCEREBELLAR |
rel
to spinal cord and cerebellum |
INTERTRANSVERSE |
pertaining to
vertebrae |
SPLENOPARECTASIS |
extreme
distension of spleen (obsolete term) |
MICROMANIPULATOR |
device
for microsurgery |
STERNOFACIALIS |
muscular
slip
(sternofascialis) |
NEUROENDOCRINE |
related
to nervous and endocrine systems |
SUPERVITALNESS |
super
vitality |
NONDELETERIOUSNESS |
noninjuriousness |
TERETISCAPULAR |
cylindrical
shouldered |
PERNICIOUSNESS |
harmfulness |
TUBERCULODERMA |
tubercular
process of the skin |
PERSEVERATIONS |
uncontrollable
repetition of response- brain injury |
VALETUDINARIAN |
sickly
or weak person |
PLACENTIFEROUS |
having
a placenta |
|
|
OTHER
TEXTS |
Meaning |
|
|
DISTEMPERATURE |
intemperatenes,
bad temperature |
RECONSULTATION |
further
consultation |
ELECTROTONUSES |
alterations
in conductivity of a nerve |
RESTORATIVENESS |
quality
of restoring |
GASTROENTERALGIA |
gastroenterology
relates to stomach disorders |
SEMIANESTHETIC |
part
anaesthetic |
GRIEVOUSNESSES |
painfulnesses,
seriousnesses |
SERRATOGLANDULOUS |
no
meaning found |
HETEROMORPHOUS |
differing
from normal type |
SLENDERIZATION |
slimming |
HYPERMEDICATION |
over
medication |
TUBERCULINATION |
tuberculation |
PRESTIMULATION |
stimulation
beforehand |
|
|
In each
topic
the contributions from the
non-Nostradamus
texts tend to be less
specific and less
correlated
as
would
be
expected
when
anagrams
are
chance
formations. I have presented enough of the lists in full to show that whether it is
meaningful or not
Nostradamus' text produces clusters that hold central
themes and that these in general are related to those
that
we
might have
anticipated from a 16th Century medical man, interested in herbs, religion
and the occult.
From internal analysis it can be seen that
Nostradamus' text has a much
higher degree of pertinent classification than the
other texts, but I also
need to see how this relates to the frequencies in the Word-base. The data
needed for this is presented in the table below. It
comes from
categorising a randomly selected set of words of about the same quantity
as in the foregoing. My generator chose 393 words from the base of 36,000.
These generated over 470 categorizations.
I have shown the count in the column
of
the
table
below
labelled RCt and alongside of it I
have shown the count for Nostradamus text
(NCt), adjusted by a
conservative factor of 1.5 to allow for the difference in size of the total words each
represents.
Table of frequency for
Random words from Word Base compared to
Nostradamus' Text
|
% |
RCt |
NCt |
|
% |
RCt |
NCt |
Plants |
3.5 |
14 |
24 |
Religion |
7.4 |
22 |
24 |
Biol-Zoo |
7.4 |
29 |
22 |
Disaster |
1.5 |
6 |
12 |
Medical |
19.0 |
74 |
55 |
Time / Calendar |
4.4 |
17 |
5 |
Prophecy |
1.5 |
6 |
15 |
Arts |
1.5 |
6 |
6 |
Chemical |
13.0 |
51 |
19 |
Education |
3.4 |
13 |
5 |
Geol |
3.4 |
13 |
9 |
Language |
7.4 |
29 |
40 |
Maths |
3.4 |
13 |
10 |
Emotions |
7.9 |
31 |
10 |
Mech/ Physics |
10.5 |
41 |
18 |
Sexuality |
1.8 |
7 |
10 |
Military |
2.8 |
11 |
27 |
Classifiers |
9.5 |
37 |
14 |
Hist |
1.5 |
6 |
9 |
Attitude / State |
8.1 |
32 |
30 |
Politics |
12.8 |
50 |
53 |
Commerce |
2.3 |
9 |
10 |
Although this can only be a rough evaluation it shows that there is
once more a peculiarity in the result. Those areas where
Nostradamus' text
is over-represented are PROPHECY, WARS, DISASTER, HISTORY, LANGUAGE and
PLANTS. Most of these are exactly the topics which might have expected to
find in any coding of
Nostradamus.
I believe that the factor of
1.5 used to produce
Nostradamus' count
should in fact be closer to 2.5
(by using the Other Source texts as
a guide to normal expectation). This factor would add RELIGION, BIOLOGY,
MEDICINE, MATHEMATICS and POLITICS to the themes of special
interest.
This method cannot tell us which words are right and which are
accidental but it seems to allow the trend to be followed. It implies
those themes that might be most valuable for further research.
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