The Voynich Ninja

(03-10-2023, 08:42 AM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I also think that those matches which have been rated 0 by all members but Mark should probably be removed for simplification.

I am not so sure. These are 'observations' and the scores are their weights. There are different methods of obtaining weighted averages, or to use only selected cells/rows in an Excel file.

And the label/text column?

I have just added the tentative matches from Theodore Petersen on his hand transcription to the table, using the code 'ThP'. Since I no longer have a copy of this transcription, I have not been able to check any of it.
The list I reconstructed had 31 entries, and the ones that were already included in Mark's list (both items being the same) have been skipped.

I also added my own list, originally of 30 entries, and in this I skipped the ones already covered by Th.Petersen or by Mark. I remember that at the time I also included some doubtful cases, and I noted that I would not all let them pass now.

There are quite a few cases where we come up with different matches for the same item (in either direction), and there is one notorious item on f100v, row 2, position 5, where all three come up with a different match. I would not exclude that this could be the result of a mistake/typo somewhere.

Wow there's some real magic going on in the spreadsheet. I will add some notes and check the additional proposals.

(05-10-2023, 10:10 AM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Wow there's some real magic going on in the spreadsheet. I will add some notes and check the additional proposals.

A few times I have been in the workbook and noticed others there at the same time. When that happens, I try to wrap up what I'm doing, especially if it is structural changes, and get out of it quickly just so I don't mess anyone up, including myself.

By the way, is there ever a time when all but one of us is asleep? 

I made a few improvements tonight. There are now links in each person's header in the rating sheet that go directly to the comments header in their comments sheet, which has a link back to the person's header in the rating sheet. This way each person can toggle back and forth between the ratings sheet and their comments sheet as needed. I also changed the comments sheets structure to account for the new columns denoting each of the three proposers and their related numberings. These columns in the comments sheets are linked by formulas back to their related cells in the ratings sheet so should that data in the ratings sheet change, the comments sheets will auto update. The only thing that will need to be added is when more proposals are added to the ratings sheet and I can fix that when it happens. Lastly, the comments sheets now have freeze panes added to help protect not only the header row but also the columns with formulas.

When I can get into the workbook next, I will start adding the Folio Browser links for the proposals Rene added tonight.

Regarding the comments, wouldn't a more integrated approach be more fruitful? I am writing up comments for each match, could that perhaps serve as a basis, and others add in their own column on the same sheet whether they disagree with something?

(05-10-2023, 11:56 AM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Regarding the comments, wouldn't a more integrated approach be more fruitful? I am writing up comments for each match, could that perhaps serve as a basis, and others add in their own column on the same sheet whether they disagree with something?

Hmm, I had considered that but a few potential issues come to mind. First, we didn't have any comments in the workbook until today so maybe we should see what that looks like before we consider how we should integrate them further. Also, the comments shouldn't become a replacement for the ratings but rather supplement them, providing a reasoning for the rating that might give some insight that another participant may have missed when making their own rating. The last thing I would think we would want is to get so distracted by the comments that they become the primary focus and devolve into comment and counter comment and counter comment again.

I guess if it were up to me, I would want to see each participant, to whatever extent they so choose, be allowed to comment based on the rating they already decided then each could take a look at what the other participants are saying in case there is anything they hadn't considered but still give the others a chance to see their unmodified viewpoint as well before we try to integrate and before each participant re-evaluates their own rating. I believe consensus is our end goal but we shouldn't just all come to the same conclusions because we went back and changed what we said to match what others have said. That might risk losing valuable insight.

If we can figure out a way to add opposing viewpoints to a specific comment in an integrated fashion but without losing that original insight, I'm all for it. But I defer to whatever Mark would prefer since this started as his project.

I would personally have them on one sheet, otherwise there will be no comparison. The comments will just live on their own sheets without any processing going on. 

Since I have already written about almost each item, I would take my comments as the basis. Did I really miss something important? Point it out, maybe even mark your comment in red or something. Like that we can find out right away where the difficult points lie, and which items we may have to discuss in depth on the forum. 

The alternative will be to hop between tabs and kind of see where there is disagreement. I honestly don't think this will happen.

It would be interesting, in my opinion, to add the description of the plants, for example: the leaf in the shape of a heart, an arrow..., the root in the shape of a snake, a hand, a human head etc.

I rated all additional proposals as well. Understandably , there were no perfect scores left, but a couple of 2's. Most of ThP's remaining matches are a bit far fetched though.