# Richard Sproat · Person

> Computational linguist; critic of entropy-based writing claims. In The Pictish symbol stones and The Vinča signs.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/pictish-symbols/people/FIG0CQHADM20XBV/richard-sproat  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Pictish symbol stones](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/pictish-symbols)[People](https://mysteriesdept.com/people)Richard Sproat

Person · in 2 mysteries

# Richard Sproat

Computational linguist; critic of entropy-based writing claims **Born 1960.**

[The Pictish symbol stones](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/pictish-symbols)[The Vinča signs](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vinca-signs)[2 events][1 source]

Richard Sproat is computational linguist (born 1960), and appears in the record of Pictish symbol stones and Vinča signs as computational linguist; critic of entropy-based writing claims.

Two events on the site involve Sproat, from Sproat criticises entropy claims for ancient symbol systems (Sep 2010) to Wu, Solman, Linehan and Sproat publish an XML corpus of the Vinča signs from Winn's catalogue (2012).

One question rest in part on what Sproat did or said, among them “Are the Pictish symbols a writing system?”, which stands most likely: the symbols are emblems of rank, kin group, office or territory that do not encode words.

Written from the site's records. [Improve it](https://mysteriesdept.com/developers)

## In the mysteries

**The Pictish symbol stones**

Computational linguist; critic of entropy-based writing claims · 1 event

[The mystery ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/pictish-symbols)

[Are the Pictish symbols a writing system?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/pictish-symbols/questions/QST0CQHAG263DNY/are-the-pictish-symbols-a-writing-system)Most likely: the symbols are emblems of rank, kin group, office or territory that do not encode words

**The Vinča signs**

1 event

[The mystery ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vinca-signs)

## What Richard Sproat did 2

Sep 2010[Sproat criticises entropy claims for ancient symbol systems](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/pictish-symbols/events/EVT0CQHAFAR7YRP/sproat-criticises-entropy-claims-for-ancient-symbol-systems)

2012[Wu, Solman, Linehan and Sproat publish an XML corpus of the Vinča signs from Winn's catalogue](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/vinca-signs/events/EVT0DEDT3FMRJMQ/wu-solman-linehan-and-sproat-publish-an-xml-corpus-of-the)

## Sources 1

[A Statistical Comparison of Written Language and Nonlinguistic Symbol Systems](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D8MT1SM3EB0/a-statistical-comparison-of-written-language-and)

SRC

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Richard Sproat [Person FIG0CQHADM20XBV]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/FIG0CQHADM20XBV
```

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Key

**FIG** 0CQHADM20XBV

Record

Person

Born

1960

Occupation

Computational linguist; critic of entropy-based writing claims

Identity

Computational linguist

In

[Pictish symbol stones](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/pictish-symbols)

Version

2

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

[ Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Sproat)[ wikidata.org](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105038756)[ Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105038756)

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