UKH

Does anyone know what the symbol carved on this gravestone means? It's in a very rural north Lancashire churchyard and belongs to a gentleman with the surname B@ker. I've tried googling the full name and dates but nothing relevant comes up. Apart from dates/name there is nothing else.

It isn't the same but it reminds me of the sun location diagram on the Voyager gold disc.

That's exactly the kind of image I was thinking. It's a very odd location for an ex-Nasa scientist to end but stranger things have happened. A few yards away is the grave of a Tory politician (from the Major era IIRC).

Looking at it it's actually very similar indeed. Perhaps it's the same sort of diagram but showing something different?

Looks like a particle accelerator schematic to me.  

T.

Intriguing.

The Voyager map is a pulsar location map to show our location. It is a simple spike diagram though without the arcs on like like this one.

When I first came across this, one of the various odd musings that flitted through my mind was that perhaps it was some kind of bagpipe notation? Just because the radiating spokes sort of resemble the pipes themselves.

I’m pretty sure bagpipes would be played in hell 24/7 so maybe the  symbol is a clue to the deceased’s ultimate destination?

I feel like I've seen it (or similar) before in a sci-fi movie...

I’m thinking same. 

Lankyman : how old was the person ?  

I was thinking about some of the graphics in Star Wars. It's not Kenny Baker's grave is it?  

Was there a crop circle that looked like this?

Beyond my area of expertise!

I've seen quite a few sci-fi films over the years but nothing rings a bell (although I've never watched any of the many Star Wars variations). Trying to preserve some anonymity since it's a recent grave the full name on the stone is Er1c M@ur1ce B@ker (spelt normally!) and he was born 17/12/27 and died 30/5/16. That's it (apart from the enigmatic symbol). This is the church where he's buried

https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5965017

Sacrilege! Bagpipes were played at my Dad's funeral as he was in a TA regiment allied to the Black Watch. Hearing the pipes usually brings a tear to my eye (for all the right reasons!).

If your curiousity won't be satisfied without knowing, there appears to be an active local history society and you could try asking them.

https://www.tathamhistory.org.uk/index.php

T.

It looks to me like a binary encoding of some text.

Taking "|" as 1 and "-" as 0. Reading clockwise round the middle, or radially outwards for the arms; every sequence starts with a 1 (no leading zeros), and the largest is 11010 = 26. So very likely to be text.  

Just need to transcribe it and see if it is plain text or has more layers of encryption.

Suspicions confirmed. It's a set of first names, presumably of family/loved ones of the deceased. The layout likely represents a family tree in some artistic fashion, but I'm not about to dig into a stranger's family history to confirm.

Very ingenious! I wonder why you'd do something like this on your headstone? Was he a mathematician? I haven't found anything online about the man himself.

I might get in touch with them to see if they know? Although it's only a Victorian era church there is a Roman road very close by so history goes back a long way in those parts. Nothing to do with the headstone, but I do like the stained glass illustration of Jesus holding what looks (to me!) like a grumpy cat I once had https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5395892

Apparently not a programmer - would have used 8-bit ASCII codes

and a parity bit

This is actually my father-in-law's gravestone. He was indeed a mathematician who also studied astro-physics. The engraving on the headstone was designed by my son, Alex, and is a spiral of shortened binary code to represent the names of the deceased, his wife, their four children and 13 grandchildren! As @jpd pointed out it isn't a true binary encoding but a reduced form that would condense the size of the names.

There is a link with the Voyager spacecraft in that Alex has always been fascinated with the Voyager space program and, with my father in law's astro-physics background, we wanted to put a personal design on his headstone.

My son went on to create a very impressive bronze statue in homage to Voyager, my father-in-law and the history of science. Here is a link to his website and instagram for anyone interested in finding out a bit more about it: alex-kirkpatrick.com, @kirkpatrickbronze.

Thank you so much for responding! It's a minor mystery that has intrigued me for several years since I first came across his headstone. I must say it's a superb place to spend eternity and very ingenious of your son to come up with a very different design. UKC comes through again!

Those are absolutely beautiful sculptures on your son’s website! And the spiral on the grave inscription mirrors the nautilus sculptures. A great and very personal monument to your father-in-law.

Just looking at the Voyager photos on Alex's website and there's one which looks like it was taken next to a stone house which could be quite near the church. I got wondering if I ever encountered your father in law? I've passed along virtually every footpath around there over the years, often chatting to people I meet.

Yes, we live only about 500m away from the church. A footpath passes through our property so you may well have walked past our house. My father-in-law used to live next door and my mother-in-law still does.

Thanks. I'll pass this on to Alex. He'll be chuffed! BTW the website works better on a desktop rather than a mobile. The Voyager sculpture is interactive. If you hover the cursor over one of the symbols or mathematical equations it opens a hyperlink with a detailed explanation of what the symbol means. Alex's elder brother, Tom, has helped him set this up, but has struggled to get it to work via a mobile phone. If anyone out there has any solutions to the issue I'm sure they'd very much appreciate it.

My pleasure, Lankyman! Glad to have helped solve the mystery for you, though jpd beat me to it with his insightful recognition of the binary code!

I do recall about 15 years ago encountering a lovely couple who invited my ex and I in for a cup of tea as we were hunting for the path. I seem to remember that their son was a climber as well.

Thematically it reminds me of the Arecibo message and the Voyager disc, but it is far more complex than either.  There are also hints of a Star Wars data port.  It looks to me like a basic symbology for giving a limited number of symbols both circumferentially and radially.

The symbols are delineated by blank space.  Your first task is to identify all the unique symbols - are their 10?  Or more than 10 but less than or equal to 26?  If it’s letters, frequency analysis helps you figure them out, if it’s numbers find the logical sequence and decode them.  But the number of strokes doesn’t seem fixed; have you tried interpreting it as the dot/dash of morse code?

I would crack out pen and paper but I’ve just driven 500 miles and am going to go for a walk instead.

When you’re back from your walk, read the whole thread - it’s one of UKC’s best. 

That was almost certainly them. They made a habit out of ambushing innocent passers by and feeding them cups of tea! My mother-in-law persists with this behaviour even today. Their son-in-law (me) and their grandsons are indeed climbers!

It's a small world! I've always enjoyed wandering around graveyards as the headstones often reveal fascinating stories.

That binary inscription on your father-in-law's gravestone is very cool, hopefully he would have appreciated it as much as we all are.

And your son's Voyager sculpture, especially when augmented by the website, is amazing.

Thank you for both of those, I think you've uplifted many people's evening.

I guess the stepped arcs show the order youngest to oldest of each generation?

It really is a very cool inscription.

Thanks for this information, I was on my mobile when I first visited the site but have now been able to spend half an hour exploring the full magnificence of the Voyager. An amazing and very moving work of art.

My father-in-law is at the centre of the spiral and his youngest daughter (my wife) is the outer arm of the spiral.  The stepped arcs (ie the grandchildren) are not placed by age but by parenthood. I hope that makes sense!

Thanks. I wish I could take credit for it!

[Another family member enters the chat]

I am quite sure you did meet him. My grandmother often talks about a CLIMBER! (emphasis hers) who came in for tea when passing through on a walk one day. She's still thrilled by this and mentions it as if we must know of each other. And now, sort of, we do.

Thanks for posting your question and picture of Gramps's gravestone. It's been lovely.

Thank you, this is really nice to hear. I built the website for Alex and really must get around to completing it by adding the back and sides of the sculpture, which would almost triple the number of inscriptions to explore.

It has indeed, it´s a beautiful counterweight to the Old Man of Hoy and BMC threads. As BottomClinger wrote: one of UKC´s best.

I was tempted to comment on the fact that I can´t remember a single non-RIP thread anywhere without a single dislike in it, as is here the case; it´s basically unthinkable. But knowing what this lot would instantly do to such a post, I decided not to post it after all.

I remember the day we passed through and your grandparents' welcome cup of tea for two muddy booted strangers. People often chat but not often invite you into their home unbidden. If I'm not mistaken this photo is from that day in April, 2010 https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1803412  It was probably just after we enjoyed our cup of tea. Ali has moved on but I still stubbornly wear black Ronhills on the hill! If you click on the 'Date Taken' (more nearby) link you can see other photos nearby that I uploaded from that day.

Can't sleep so reading internet to pass the time, am I actually still dreaming? What are the chances? 

Reminds me of a thread I made a while back asking for advice for a trip to Normandy where someone who reads UKC joined the dots from the family history I left in Bayeux War Cemetery.  But better.

 Thanks for the link to your photographs - I do recognise where each of them was taken. We are certainly blessed with lovely countryside around here. You must pop in for another cup of tea when you're next walking past us!

This is one of those genuinely lovely threads that happen from time to time.

Thank you for the offer - watch out for a slowly moving 'lanky man' in black retro-Ronhill-array! I used to use Geograph almost as a visual diary but don't contribute these days. I thought I might have passed your way some time last year but, trawling through my laptop suggests it was autumn, 2022 when I took two of the pics below. Looking at some of your UKC profile photos suggests that I may have been right by your house looking down the valley. On previous visits I've had clear vistas of the Lakes fells from there - truly a stunning view. I know how squelchy the paths and pastures around the Hindburn can be so it may be some while before I venture out that way again. Just last week I attempted to walk along a track near home that I normally get on several times a week - I gave up within a few yards, not having been along it since the cold snap last December. The original photo at the top of this thread is a crop of one I took when we were on a bluebell walk in June, 2022 - for some reason we missed out on this last year.

I look forward to meeting you when you next pass our way. The top left photo is a view towards the Lakes from our house!

I agree. I'm not a big fan of threads that descend into aggravation and strife (particularly when I speak my mind!). It is remarkable how quickly folks turn up with real insight and knowledge - if only we could do something like predict the Grand National results ... ! It does seem a long shot that I post a message on a climbers' forum about a headstone in a rather remote churchyard and within hours the 'code' is deciphered followed in short order by a close family member!

Do we have to have a spoiler in the banner at the top?  Part of the joy of this thread is discovering the serendipity partway through!