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A College Student Who Decoded the Data Hidden in Inca Knots

atlasobscura.com

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Re: A College Student Who Decoded the Data Hidden in Inca Knots

#21

Post by f1notformula1 »

TN1ck wrote: post #2

What they actually found out: “Manny has proven that the way in which pendant cords are tied to the top cord indicates which social group an individual belonged to. This is the first time anyone has shown that and it's a big deal,”

"Medrano worked with Urton over the next several months and the two compiled their findings into a paper which will be published in the peer-reviewed journal Ethnohistory in January. Medrano is the first author on the paper, indicating he contributed the bulk of the research, something Urton notes is extremely rare for an undergraduate student"

I read that to mean there's more, but it'll be published in Ethnohistory.

Re: A College Student Who Decoded the Data Hidden in Inca Knots

#22

Post by wasx »

da_chicken wrote: post #13

> Medrano comes from a Mexican-American family and speaks Spanish, so understanding the Spanish census document was no problem. Handling numbers and data came naturally to him as well, as an economics major. The challenge, as both Medrano and Urton note, seemed to demand a perfect alignment of his skills and interests. I wonder how many unsolved problems there are out there with this problem. Problems that are solvab…

I would dare say the majority of unsolved problems are solvable by an individual with a unique perspective and set of skills. Having those people find those problems seems like a case of serendipity more often than not.

Re: A College Student Who Decoded the Data Hidden in Inca Knots

#23

Post by teej »

bthallplz wrote: post #15
da_chicken wrote: post #13

> Medrano comes from a Mexican-American family and speaks Spanish, so understanding the Spanish census document was no problem. Handling numbers and data came naturally to him as well, as an economics major. The challenge, as both Medrano and Urton note, seemed to demand a perfect alignment of his skills and interests. I wonder how many unsolved problems there are out there with this problem. Problems that are solvab…

Hopefully people that lack the proper perspective won't lead those with the proper perspective to not even try.

There’s a reason why Max Planck said:

> “A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.”

Re: A College Student Who Decoded the Data Hidden in Inca Knots

#24

Post by danso »

da_chicken wrote: post #13

> Medrano comes from a Mexican-American family and speaks Spanish, so understanding the Spanish census document was no problem. Handling numbers and data came naturally to him as well, as an economics major. The challenge, as both Medrano and Urton note, seemed to demand a perfect alignment of his skills and interests. I wonder how many unsolved problems there are out there with this problem. Problems that are solvab…

> I wonder how many unsolved problems there are out there with this problem.

Assuming that there are many, this has been to me a compelling reason why cultural diversity is important to a company/organization, for both social justice reasons and for the bottom line -- in terms of having people who can broaden the scope of your work and problem recognition.

Re: A College Student Who Decoded the Data Hidden in Inca Knots

#25

Post by FrameworkFred »

tzahola wrote: post #5
TN1ck wrote: post #2

What they actually found out: “Manny has proven that the way in which pendant cords are tied to the top cord indicates which social group an individual belonged to. This is the first time anyone has shown that and it's a big deal,”

So the knots are basically census records? How disappointing :/

Disagree.

To me, it looks like a data structure. It would be really cool to find evidence of them using it to calculate taxes or maybe social status, level of political influence, property rights, etc.

...or to figure out whether or knot the interpreter would halt ;)

Re: A College Student Who Decoded the Data Hidden in Inca Knots

#26

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

tzahola wrote: post #5
TN1ck wrote: post #2

What they actually found out: “Manny has proven that the way in which pendant cords are tied to the top cord indicates which social group an individual belonged to. This is the first time anyone has shown that and it's a big deal,”

So the knots are basically census records? How disappointing :/

Not so disappointing if this becomes the Rosetta stone of khipus.

Re: A College Student Who Decoded the Data Hidden in Inca Knots

#27

Post by ChuckMcM »

da_chicken wrote: post #13

> Medrano comes from a Mexican-American family and speaks Spanish, so understanding the Spanish census document was no problem. Handling numbers and data came naturally to him as well, as an economics major. The challenge, as both Medrano and Urton note, seemed to demand a perfect alignment of his skills and interests. I wonder how many unsolved problems there are out there with this problem. Problems that are solvab…

It is a similar line of reasoning that led me to recognize that anything you can learn might be useful someday, thus learning as an activity is intrinsically valuable.

Re: A College Student Who Decoded the Data Hidden in Inca Knots

#28

Post by failrate »

da_chicken wrote: post #13

> Medrano comes from a Mexican-American family and speaks Spanish, so understanding the Spanish census document was no problem. Handling numbers and data came naturally to him as well, as an economics major. The challenge, as both Medrano and Urton note, seemed to demand a perfect alignment of his skills and interests. I wonder how many unsolved problems there are out there with this problem. Problems that are solvab…

A few. For example, the Indus seals have symbols that may be a language, but no one has been able to decipher them.

Re: A College Student Who Decoded the Data Hidden in Inca Knots

#29

Post by rkuykendall-com »

stevenwoo wrote: post #18
da_chicken wrote: post #13

> Medrano comes from a Mexican-American family and speaks Spanish, so understanding the Spanish census document was no problem. Handling numbers and data came naturally to him as well, as an economics major. The challenge, as both Medrano and Urton note, seemed to demand a perfect alignment of his skills and interests. I wonder how many unsolved problems there are out there with this problem. Problems that are solvab…

The recent lichen genetic revelation that rewrote textbook definitions is similar, kinda magical coincidences in all the things that had to fall into place (or survivorship bias?/good writer telling story). If you are not familiar with it - https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/07/how-a-gu...

That story was so much more exciting than it deserved to be. What a great writer.
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