23-03-2019, 05:07 PM
This is a general, philosophical question. It is about Voynich ms research, about all of our research, about all of us, including myself.
Could it be possible that, in some way or in some respect, some of us actually prefer that the Voynich MS remain undeciphered?
This mysterious manuscript is just so much FUN to study! We can all make up our own theories about languages, we can do interesting linguistic and statistical studies on the ms text, we can propose fascinating theories about the possible meanings of the illustrations, etc., etc., etc. It is a fertile ground for our imagination, and for our intellectual inclination to analyze the text, for those of us who are mathematically inclined.
But if the Voynich MS ever were to be successfully deciphered, whether by me or someone else here or someone else anywhere or whomever, ... we would lose all of that. The mystery would be gone. There would be no more puzzle left to analyze and speculate about and research. It would be just another historical document.
Oh, it would still be researched, in detail, for sure. But that work would then be the province of the specialists in whichever language/dialect and in whichever historical specialization the MS happens to belong to. If it's Byzantine Greek or Judaeo-Greek, it would be the specialists in those fields who would study it. If it's a unique method of medieval Latin manuscript abbreviations, it would be the specialists in that field who would study it.
Linear B can still be studied, by those who specialize in Archaic and Mycenaean Greek, in Mycenaean and Minoan civilization, and in the linguistics of the distinct type of syllabary that the script represented. But it can no longer be studied by a broad spectrum of talented and curious intellectuals without those specialized skills, as it was in the 1920's and 30's and 40's in many very interesting and fascinating ways by a wide variety of investigators. I bet many people were actually disappointed when Michael Ventris successfully deciphered Linear B. He had taken their puzzle game away from them.
I don't think many people will admit to feeling this way. But I think it is a philosophical question that is worth asking and worth reflecting on.
Geoffrey
Could it be possible that, in some way or in some respect, some of us actually prefer that the Voynich MS remain undeciphered?
This mysterious manuscript is just so much FUN to study! We can all make up our own theories about languages, we can do interesting linguistic and statistical studies on the ms text, we can propose fascinating theories about the possible meanings of the illustrations, etc., etc., etc. It is a fertile ground for our imagination, and for our intellectual inclination to analyze the text, for those of us who are mathematically inclined.
But if the Voynich MS ever were to be successfully deciphered, whether by me or someone else here or someone else anywhere or whomever, ... we would lose all of that. The mystery would be gone. There would be no more puzzle left to analyze and speculate about and research. It would be just another historical document.
Oh, it would still be researched, in detail, for sure. But that work would then be the province of the specialists in whichever language/dialect and in whichever historical specialization the MS happens to belong to. If it's Byzantine Greek or Judaeo-Greek, it would be the specialists in those fields who would study it. If it's a unique method of medieval Latin manuscript abbreviations, it would be the specialists in that field who would study it.
Linear B can still be studied, by those who specialize in Archaic and Mycenaean Greek, in Mycenaean and Minoan civilization, and in the linguistics of the distinct type of syllabary that the script represented. But it can no longer be studied by a broad spectrum of talented and curious intellectuals without those specialized skills, as it was in the 1920's and 30's and 40's in many very interesting and fascinating ways by a wide variety of investigators. I bet many people were actually disappointed when Michael Ventris successfully deciphered Linear B. He had taken their puzzle game away from them.
I don't think many people will admit to feeling this way. But I think it is a philosophical question that is worth asking and worth reflecting on.
Geoffrey