A science historian in Manchester claims to have deciphered secret messages hidden in the ancient writings of the philosopher Plato.
Dr Jay Kennedy from the University of Manchester has revealed that the legendary Greek philosopher Plato used a regular pattern of symbols to give his books a musical structure.
Plato's books had a key role in establishing the foundations of Western culture. But the existence of a so-called 'Plato Code' has long been disputed.
By unravelling Plato's 'hidden' messages, Dr Kennedy believes he has thrown a new light on the origins of science, mathematics, music, and philosophy.
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At the University of Manchester, he happened to be teaching one course on Plato's Republic while teaching another on music and mathematics of the Ancient Greeks, when he began to see a connection.
"It was a combustible mixture," he said. "Insights fed on each other, a cascade of discoveries: it was the most exciting time of my life."
Working from the original scripts, he observed that Plato used a regular pattern of symbols, inherited from the ancient followers of Pythagoras, to give his books a structure hidden beneath the surfrace.
So, basically, what this tells us is that if you focus too much on one discipline or angle of said discipline (say, the bark of the tree) you miss not only the big picture (the forest) but other keys to understanding the big picture (the trees, their roots, other plants, animals, etc.).
This Manchesterian was schooled in both philosophy *and* music. If he had only been schooled in philosophy, he'd have missed it.
This suggests a wider view on life and a more broad set of experiences in life will help you better understand what is right in front of you.
Sometimes we need to be reminded of the most obvious things, I guess. :)
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