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Widespread Misconceptions about Kryptos

General Misinformation

We Know What Kryptos Says
False.  The Morse Code, Vigenere Cipher, and Rotational Transposition have been decrypted by brute force, which means they were not solved the same way someone with prior knowledge of the keys and methods would have solved it.  Although we can be fairly confident of the plain text, the spaces and punctuation have been added for readability, possibly introducing errors.  We must be aware that most of what we know about Kryptos is speculation and subject to change with new information.

Dan Brown is an Expert on Kryptos
False.  Despite Dan Brown's allusion to the sculpture in "The Da Vinci Code" and his suggestion on Good Morning America (January 12, 2004) that WW could be Mary Magdalene's inverted initials, Jim Sanborn has never spoken with Brown.  Sanborn is annoyed by the idea that Kryptos is somehow connected with Brown's fiction, and he "dismisses any religious connotations or allusions to beliefs of the ancients."

The Copperplate

The Standing Ribbon is the Only Copperplate
Morse Code StrataFalse.  The wavy S-shaped standing copperplate is not the only copperplate in the sculpture.  Although this tends to be the main attraction of the sculpture, copperplate by definition is a smooth plate of copper that has been etched or engraved (usually for a printing press).  The copperplate also includes the metal layered strata containing Morse Code.  The correlation between the two parts of the sculpture may have some significance as Sanborn has stated repeatedly that metaphor is an important part of his process as a sculptor.

The Morse Code

DIGETAL
"DIGETAL," part of "DIGETAL INTERPREATI..." is not an English misspelling.  If it were, "DIGETAL" would have consistent letter spacing in the D, I, G, E, T, A, L sequence.  This is not the case.  The Morse Code has irregular spacing after the purported "E," suggesting it is an incomplete "I."  The Morse Code difference between an "E" and an "I" is a single dit, and the second dit that normally forms an "I" is missing, although the space for it is preserved.  The fact that "DIGETAL" is a cipher spelling error, not a plain text spelling error is a distinction first noted by Morse Code expert, Paul Kiesel, member of the Yahoo! Kryptos Group, and could serve as a potential clue to other parts of Kryptos.

DIGETAL INTERPRETATU-
The Morse Code Copperplate does have appropriate letter spacing unlike the ciphers on the main standing copperplate.  Many web sites interpret "DIGETAL INTERPRETAT..." as "INTERPRET AT T" or "INTERPRET AT U."  The Morse Code is cut-off mid-character where it continues, obscured by the overlaying stratus-like layer of rock.  The abscised character is "O" in "DIGETAL INTERPRETATIO..."  Likely, the code says, "DIGETAL INTERPRETATION," but other arrangements in spacing are mere speculation.  Perhaps these variations hold intended clues, but this remains unconfirmed.  In fact, the combination of the I and the partial O forms the character "U" when the letter spacing between them is disregarded.

T IS YOUR POSITION
Like "DIGETAL INTERPRETATION," this Morse Code is partially obscured by a layer of rock on top of it.  "T IS YOUR POSITION" has been confirmed to be the tail end of "WHAT IS YOUR POSITION?" possibly alluding to a physical orientation or inquiry into a philosophical stance.  As always, this does not imply that what is visible, "T IS YOUR POSITION," is not itself a clue.

Part Three

K3 Employs a Keyed Columnar Transposition
False.  The third passage of Kryptos, beginning "SLOWLYDESPARATLYSLOWLY...", was originally cracked using a descrambling technique called Triple Columnar Transposition.  Since many complicated formulas can lead to the same plain text, we can not claim without a shadow of a doubt that one particular method is what was intended.  However, an elegant technique that surfaced in 2005 is called Rotational Transposition.  This method seems to be as simple as possible and is likely alluded to by the whirlpool at the base of the Sculpture's tableau.

Jim Gillogly's Technique (June 1999)
Elonka Dunin's Technique (May 2003)
Sean O'Neil's Technique (July - August 2003)
Gary Phillips' Technique (June 2005)
Dick Gay's Technique Previously Unpublished (2000)

The Pool of Water at the Foot of the Tableau

The Circular Pool of Water is Calm and Reflective
False.  The original plan was for the pool of water to be agitated into standing waves.  As with other parts of the sculpture, the original plans were exchanged for new ones, and the circular pool of water swirls like a whirlpool.  The rotation of the water is powered by a pump submerged near the surface.

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