08-04-2021, 06:31 PM
08-04-2021, 07:01 PM
The manuscripts is not important in itself (at least I see no reason to believe so) and it does not matter very much if it is solved (at least not to the world as a whole), it matters to me (at least for some very private reasons) and Der Weg ist das Ziel/The journey is its own reward
08-04-2021, 07:48 PM
Depends how you measure "important".
By some mesures it is, by others it isn't, and by others we don't know.
Arguments in favor may be:
What makes any manuscript important though? Do we only count things like the Magna Carta? The oldest manuscripts of the Bible? Manuscripts with exceptional illuminations?
By some mesures it is, by others it isn't, and by others we don't know.
Arguments in favor may be:
- It draws a lot of interest from many people. Few manuscripts are wider known. (Granted, most people probably don't know any manuscript at all). I am aware that equating popular with important is an anti-elitist view which may not agree with all.
- As far as we know, it is an artifact with many unique properties. This makes it more important than the umpteenth Speculum Humanae Salvationis for example, of which hundreds exist. The last tree of an ugly heirloom apple variety is more important than one tree of a high-end, common variety.
- As far as we know, it doesn't teach us anything; we can't use it. We can't even learn much about history or manuscript traditions from it, because we can't connect it to "the known".
- We don't know what it encodes. If it (its text and/or images) is ever understood, it may teach us something no other manuscript contains. It may illuminate an obscure culture or school of thought. It may fill in gaps in our knowledge of herbal remedies. It may contain a lost work of some known author.
What makes any manuscript important though? Do we only count things like the Magna Carta? The oldest manuscripts of the Bible? Manuscripts with exceptional illuminations?
08-04-2021, 07:53 PM
I think every Voynich Manuscript fan will have a different answer to this question, as it means something different to each one personally.
My simple answer: I agree with Helmut. I love a good mystery.
My complex answer: I see in the quest to find meaning in the Voynich Manuscript a very good microcosm of humanity’s quest to find meaning in life.
My simple answer: I agree with Helmut. I love a good mystery.
My complex answer: I see in the quest to find meaning in the Voynich Manuscript a very good microcosm of humanity’s quest to find meaning in life.
08-04-2021, 08:38 PM
I am very much aware that I am recognised as someone who has invested a lot of free time into this manuscript. It is commonly assumed that the manuscript is important for me.
Of course it is, but that is just a personal thing. I enjoy this stuff.
This does not mean that this manuscript is important, and clearly it isn't.
A much better word is: "curious".
It is a curious object that deserves some attention.
The human desire to understand things, as pointed out by RenegadeHealer, is clearly a factor in the great interest that the MS triggers, but I am of the very strong opinion that one should be able to accept the fact that we don't know and don't understand a great many things, and one should be able to live with that.
Of course it is, but that is just a personal thing. I enjoy this stuff.
This does not mean that this manuscript is important, and clearly it isn't.
A much better word is: "curious".
It is a curious object that deserves some attention.
The human desire to understand things, as pointed out by RenegadeHealer, is clearly a factor in the great interest that the MS triggers, but I am of the very strong opinion that one should be able to accept the fact that we don't know and don't understand a great many things, and one should be able to live with that.
08-04-2021, 08:40 PM
Which factors would make a manuscript generally important in your opinion, Rene?
08-04-2021, 08:55 PM
Why is any historical artifact important?
Why is the study of history itself important?
Does it matter whether there was a King of Egypt called Ramesses II? And does it matter what happened in his reign?
In my opinion we cannot be sure how important the Voynich manuscript is as there are many questions unanswered about it at this time.
For someone such as myself, who believes the manuscript to have been written in cipher, it certainly serves as important in the History of Cryptography. But then of course one is left with the question of whether pre-modern cryptography is an important or unimportant subject. How important in the History of Cryptography it turns out to be is dependent on the nature of the cipher used, which is don't yet precisely know.
If you are asking whether you should spend your time researching the Voynich then that is a different question.
Why is the study of history itself important?
Does it matter whether there was a King of Egypt called Ramesses II? And does it matter what happened in his reign?
In my opinion we cannot be sure how important the Voynich manuscript is as there are many questions unanswered about it at this time.
For someone such as myself, who believes the manuscript to have been written in cipher, it certainly serves as important in the History of Cryptography. But then of course one is left with the question of whether pre-modern cryptography is an important or unimportant subject. How important in the History of Cryptography it turns out to be is dependent on the nature of the cipher used, which is don't yet precisely know.
If you are asking whether you should spend your time researching the Voynich then that is a different question.
08-04-2021, 09:13 PM
In my opinion, every manuscript is important.
It is perhaps a matter of opinion. I see it as a storehouse of knowledge. Without it, we would probably still be in the Stone Age.
It is perhaps a matter of opinion. I see it as a storehouse of knowledge. Without it, we would probably still be in the Stone Age.
08-04-2021, 09:25 PM
I think whether one thinks the Voynich manuscript is important or not probably says more about oneself than the Voynich manuscript.
08-04-2021, 11:08 PM
Two different questions are mingled here.
The first one is: "Why the MS is important for me (or is not)". This is a matter of personal attitude.
The second one is: "Why the MS is important for human practice". The answer is that it is a complex interdisciplinary problem, and dealing with it helps advancing sciences. In particular, it is a perfect problem of interpreting messages of uncertain meaning in unknown language. Good warm-up before meeting with something more challenging in the centuries millennia to come.
The first one is: "Why the MS is important for me (or is not)". This is a matter of personal attitude.
The second one is: "Why the MS is important for human practice". The answer is that it is a complex interdisciplinary problem, and dealing with it helps advancing sciences. In particular, it is a perfect problem of interpreting messages of uncertain meaning in unknown language. Good warm-up before meeting with something more challenging in the centuries millennia to come.