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Autumn 2003 (11.3)  Great Discoveries
- Not Just in the Past Zaza Alexidze is Director
of the Institute of Manuscripts in Tbilisi, Georgia, and the decipherer of the Caucasian
Albanian written script which dates to the 5th century and which
was the forerunner of the language spoken by the Udi people who
live primarily in Azerbaijan today.
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"Over the years, I've become conscious
that the process of discovery occurs instantaneously like a sudden
flash. Of course, discovery is the culmination of immense pre-paration
with the synthesis of both conscious and unconscious thought.
It occurs when the mind and memory have accumulated an enormous
quantity of fragmented knowledge and then instantly, somehow,
everything falls into place. It happens spontaneously. You can't
predict the moment it will take place. It suddenly dawns on you
that you know something that no one else in the world has ever
known before. What can I say? Nothing can compare with the profound
exhilaration of that moment."