Cipher Mysteries

Like many people, I've always vaguely wondered how the alchemical 'code' worked: that is, how the abstruse (and indeed playfully indirect) language of alchemy mapped onto actual things and processes in the real world. Even though the early 20th century saw a succession of natural philosophers and historically-minded empirical ...

Having just bought a print-on-demand copy of John Wilkins' book "Mathematical Magick: Or The Wonders That may be Performed by Mechanical Geometry", I found that it was (mostly) placed online in 2006 as part of "The Mathematical and Philosophical Works of the Right Rev. John Wilkins", (re-)published in 1802 - there's a free version on Google Books, available ...

At last, my copy of Arthur W.J.G. Ord-Hume's "Perpetual Motion: The history of an obsession" (which I mentioned here) has arrived, though I must admit to a certain amount of disappointment that its chapter 15 ("Perpetual Lamps") only runs from page 194 to page 199. All the same, if that is all we have, then let us pick ...

A quick pop-cultural aside: the song "Eternal Flame" was written by hugely successful American songwriter Billy Steinberg with Tom Kelly and Susanna Hoffs (of The Bangles). The inspiration for the song came from an eternal flame seen by Bangles' bass-player Michael Steele burning at Gracelands in Elvis Presley's memory, as well as from one at a Palm ...