The Voynich Ninja

(05-02-2026, 10:29 PM)zachary.kaelan Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I'm guessing something in support of your book switch theory then.

With all due respect to Jorge, the book switch theory was actually mine -- (But no anagram needed, as I outlined the idea in this forum prior to his naming it: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.).

But if his imminent announcement is of further evidence for the whole scenario, that would be a grand find indeed!  And huge kudos to Jorge for it.

(05-02-2026, 10:18 PM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Usually when I find something, I'm pretty quick to post it to the forum. The input of others can be valuable in many ways. For insights, but also for realty checks, which are essential in our field.

My apologies for keeping you all in suspense.  But, as I wrote, I feel that I must write it up carefully and prepare the data in a way that people can check it.  I am working on it...

All the best, --stolfi

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(06-02-2026, 12:45 AM)asteckley Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.And huge kudos to Jorge for it.

Thanks, but you'd better wait to see it before the kudos...

All the best, --stolfi

(06-02-2026, 02:15 AM)Jorge_Stolfi Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.My apologies for keeping you all in suspense.  But, as I wrote, I feel that I must write it up carefully and prepare the data in a way that people can check it.  I am working on it...

I can see your strategy as being one of generating an eager audience, a publicity stunt, or intellectual playfulness, so to speak. But I don’t see how this can serve as a way of safeguarding your authorship of the finding.

If it has been already discovered, then already there is a record of it somewhere, and can be proven no matter what anagram you share first. If you think you are the first to find it, and no one else knows about it, then it seems to me the best and most reasonable way to protect your authorship rights would be not announcing it first without any elaboration, but finishing the report first before announcing it, especially if you do not know yet how long it will take you to prepare the report. This is not Galileo’s time, as you know. All posts are stamp-dated for everyone to check.

As another forum member said, I also think if others come and claim to have discovered what you have before you release your report, they would certainly have a priority of authorship, since without even knowing you found something, they have found it AND reported it. In fact, they may accuse you (unfairly, I am sure) of copying their details when your detailed report comes out. So, for authorship rights protection none of this really makes sense to me, sorry to say.

But, if this is indeed a publicity stunt or intellectual playfulness, which I think it is, then why are you apologizing for it? Just delay it as much as you can and your eager audience will grow exponentially without you or them even having contributed anything (yet) on this particular topic, although I am sure it will not be a dud when reported in detail. Why not even put your report in cipher, and a Stolfi manuscript will mesmerize a global audience for ages?

I think the most reasonable thing would have been perhaps to finish the report, and being sure (also of its non-dud-ness and) that you could keep your "few days" deadline promise without its cycle renewal today, send out your publicity anagram, and release the report roughly on time. Or, at least focus on writing it in a timely way without distractions of other post engagements.

I can't imagine that Stolfi is really concerned about authorship, because nowadays it's so much easier and safer to arrange that

But I still think it's a very good idea, or perhaps precisely because of that. And it works, as you can see here.


Curiosity is one of the strongest human drives.... we all now that

(06-02-2026, 06:12 AM)JoJo_Jost Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I can't imagine that Stolfi is really concerned about authorship, because nowadays it's so much easier and safer to arrange that

But I still think it's a very good idea, or perhaps precisely because of that. And it works, as you can see here.


Curiosity is one of the strongest human drives.... we all now that

Yes, the curiosity is a great thing. But in this forum, it does not seem to be applied to everyone's contribution. Some are simply ignored, others favored in odd ways that deserve a ninja.com of their own to understand why. That's fine with me, as it's the way it is and I am used to it. But, sadly, those who ignore new ideas, whether they agree with them or not, will just fall behind in exploring them.

Well, there are some posts that you just don't know how to respond to. I feel the same way. I read them and think: Interesting, maybe, maybe not. Most of the time, people react when they stumble across something or when they really like something (usually when it fits in with their own thoughts / theory), but agreement is rare...

(06-02-2026, 07:01 AM)JoJo_Jost Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Well, there are some posts that you just don't know how to respond to. I feel the same way. I read them and think: Interesting, maybe, maybe not. Most of the time, people react when they stumble across something or when they really like something (usually when it fits in with their own thoughts / theory), but agreement is rare...

Yes, you have a good point. It is also a matter of interest that people have on different aspects of the study. As I had noted, I am interested in your study of the Bavarian and German language playing a part in the Voynich text, and I can see you are studying it carefully and I am reading the posts. I appreciate that. Best wishes.

I think, as an outsider, that an essential part of having a successful career in academia is at least a little bit of good showmanship, or maybe even more than a little bit. It certainly helps to add some virality to have your ideas recognized on a large scale. So, I'm not at all surprised by this approach, and I also think the academia is not the only place where this works to one's advantage, so I will be taking notes 

Quote:My apologies for keeping you all in suspense.  But, as I wrote, I feel that I must write it up carefully and prepare the data in a way that people can check it.  I am working on it...

Just remember, if you want to claim that "Maria" at the last page is actually "Mehmet" then Ahmet Ardic was before you  
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(06-02-2026, 02:05 PM)Rafal Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

Quote:My apologies for keeping you all in suspense.  But, as I wrote, I feel that I must write it up carefully and prepare the data in a way that people can check it.  I am working on it...

Just remember, if you want to claim that "Maria" at the last page is actually "Mehmet" then Ahmet Ardic was before you  

Personally, I agree with others that those "+'s" are meant as Christian Crosses, as were sometimes interspersed with text in the past. And then, that the Latin letter reading of this would be "mama". It still means "mother" even in Latin. Perhaps "Holy Mother", considering the crosses?

Rich