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Not all that much is known about the esteemed expert
on cogs, Professor William F. Cogswell. Considered a genius by his peers, the reclusive professor has devoted the better
part of his life to the study of cogs. Quoth Cogswell: "The tragic condition of the cogs derives not
from their mental capabilities - which, in fact, have been found to be quite vast - but rather from their astounding inability
to communicate the great products of said capabilities."
a. A form of tally marks frequently used by cogs. b. Apparently, these tally marks may have also been used by cogs to represent their
DNA. c. MKB: initials of the Three Kings or Three Wise Men in the Christian
tradition: Melchior, Kaspar, and Balthasar. Some Christians would write these initials on frames of doorways in
their homes twelve days after Christmas to represent the arrival of the Three Kings in Bethlehem. This may symbolize
the end of some journey for the cogs. d. This may be the symbolic journey
that ends with the initials MKB. What appears to be a difficult and unforgiving obstacle course, where one false step
could leave a cog plummeting to its death, could represent hardships that the cogs have had to overcome. Evidently,
the cogs who overcome these hardships, complete the symbolic obstacle course, are "kings" or "wise men."
e. The basic design for cogs. The simplicity of the diagram seems to
emphasize the pure nature of cogs.
f. A form of tally marks more
often associated with humans, followed by a seemingly unrelated series of Arabic numerals. I'm not sure of the significance.
 g. The black lines seem to represent outside influences on the cogs, environmental factors
if you will. Notice how the two cogs (g.i and g.ii) internalize the same outside influence differently. A "nature
vs. nurture" theme pervades. h. In most cases, an upside-down cog simply represents
a dead cog. In family trees, however, death is represented by the cog being crossed out. In family trees, being
upside-down means that the cog was stillborn.
i. Tombstone bearing traditional cog
epitaph. Some cog historians believe (in my opinion, without grounds) that this method of burial was reserved for royalty.
The truth is, it is still a mystery as to why some cogs (few, really) are buried in this manner and others are not. j. A form of ancient cog hieroglyphs. The circle bisected by the vertical line represents
a cog; The sideways teardrop represents a speech bubble; The circle above the vertical line represents a semi-colon.
This particular scene seems to depict a group of cogs engaging in a discussion or, perhaps, listening to a lecture. k. That's Carl. The only cog pictured here that is unrelated to any other pictured
cog, he is also the only cog, as far as I know, to have a human name.
Submit your question(s) to Professor Cogswell using the form below:
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In this space, the professor will attempt to interpret various cog-related
paintings. If you have any questions that you wish to submit to the professor, you may do so at the bottom of the page.
He will do his best to answer them in a timely manner.
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