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Invitation to take part in Task Force on Voynich Plants Historical Research |
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Posted by: asteckley - 30-09-2023, 07:20 PM - Forum: News
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I've received a lot of great feedback on You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. application.
So I would like to propose a short-term project: A Voynich Plants Historical Research Task Force ... if there are sufficient volunteers willing to take part.
The Motivation
While TVG is ostensibly an application to generate input from a broad audience, I've been told that it is also providing a very useful platform in active research by presenting all of the plant illustrations from the manuscript in one easy-to-browse location and by providing a summary of the many plant identification proposals from published research.
It is NOT meant, and cannot reasonably become, a one-stop comprehensive source of collaborative research and analysis of the botanical content of the manuscript, let alone for the cross-disciplinary features beyond the plant illustrations. However, it can go a bit further than it currently is in being a useful resource for active researchers.
- The current entries from 'historical researchers' cover most of those proposals that have been published previously, but it is not complete. There are a couple of notable sources that are not yet included, and most of the current ones are very brief in detail, lack pictures, and have indirect references. And we suspect, they probably include a few erroneous entries.
- There are a couple of additional features (described later) that could be added to the application which would make it even more useful for researchers.
The effort for implementing the additional features is not tremendous, but it is the extending and refining of the data regarding the historical research proposals that would justify adding them.
What's Proposed
If there are a few volunteers from this forum (or who are otherwise qualified) who are willing to collaborate on the effort of that data collection, then I can commit resources to provide support as follows:
1. We will first extend the application with these features (perhaps others after discussion): - The ability to designate with each proposal, the part of the plant that is being recognized for similarity. This would include Whole Plant, Flower, Leaves, Root, etc.
- The ability to journal commentary, pictures, and reference links on each whole plant illustration (not just on each proposal).
- The ability to search the content of comments across all plants and proposals.
2. I will provide the means to enable the group to easily enter data into the application as any one of the historical researchers and to collaborate on this activity
3. I can also set up a means for the group to exchange private communications and collaborate during the course of the task force.
I don't think this would be an onerous effort if handled by a small group at their leisure, and it should not take too long to complete the overall effort. (A few hours by each individual would probably collectively produce the minimum needed to substantially complete the task.)
Additional Comments
- We would need at least 3 or 4 people to volunteer before commencing. This will help ensure the success of the mission and justify the effort it will require for us to first implement the additional features mentioned. I think we need at least 3 people in order to enable sufficient collaboration and 'cross-oversight' of the activity and to just reduce the overall burden.
- We would of course provide, in the application, credit to the Task Force and list its members.
- It would be beneficial if the group also composed an additional resources page to provide information and links to other resources on various related topics (e.g. the many good Voynich websites and blogs, resources on the field of botany and how to identify plants, etc.). We could then add this as its own static page in the application. (The current About page has a bit of this information, but it is getting a bit too big to do justice to the Additional Resources section.)
- If ambitious, the group could also extend The Voynich Garden data to include the many partial-plant illustrations as well. These number more than the whole-plant illustrations currently included in the application. (If that commitment were made, I could also provide the necessary tools to clip out and prepare the additional images.)
- The previous points notwithstanding, it is important to keep the scope of The Voynich Garden application well-defined. It is tempting to keep extending it with more and more information and features, but we need to guard against it spreading out beyond the botanical illustrations. This would be a prohibitive and unnecessary goal. We are all aware that researching and analyzing the Voynich Manuscript involves several specialized areas and skill sets, and the plant illustrations are just one contributory feature. And there are many excellent resources available on many topics surrounding the manuscript and its different aspects. Too much overlap with those other resources is not helpful. The Voynich Garden can be most valuable if it stays focused on providing a single location to collect and present information specific to the botanical illustrations and the analysis of what they may represent. Making use of that information in broader efforts to analyze and understand the manuscript needs to be left to researchers using a variety of resources beyond just The Voynich Garden.
If you are interested, please PM or email me (curator@cryptobotany.org).
As I mentioned, if (but only if) there is sufficient interest and volunteers, then we can launch this task force.
Thank you all,
Andrew
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| Background on The Voynich Garden |
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Posted by: asteckley - 30-09-2023, 03:45 PM - Forum: News
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I've had a few people ask questions related to background aspects of You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. application that was announced in a separate You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..
So I thought I'd provide a bit of context on that here:
The application was not really meant as a research platform for all the detailed analysis of the plants in the Voynich Manuscript,
so much as a way to just collect candidate plant identifications from a lot of people who might know plants but who may have never heard of the manuscript. (There is a surprisingly large number of members in special interest groups dedicated to plant identification.)
But it turns out that it provides a great place to bring together in one place and format, all the various proposals regarding the plants in the manuscript for easier access and reference in doing research on the manuscript. (A couple of prominent Voynich Manuscript researchers have told me they are finding it very useful for their active research efforts.)
Personally, I also hope the cleaned-up images of the plants provide a very useful alternative view that helps one inspect the plant illustrations more easily because making those cleaned-up images was a sizable effort. Even with several automation tools that I developed it involved many hours of tedious work that was hard on the eyes. (You can swap between the cleaned-up image and the original full folio image using the center button at the top of the plant image, by the way.)
Actually, those cleaned-up images of the plants were the impetus for the whole project in the first place.
I had developed a separate application for stepping through the manuscript, clipping out rectangular sections, and storing them in a database. The purpose was to clip out individual glyphs, worse, and paragraphs for other analysis efforts. I also added a feature to draw, clip, and store arbitrary polygons and annotate them with notes, so one could also collect images of other artifacts besides the script. At that point, we noticed how helpful it was to clip out a plant and look at it separately from the distractions of the script or other shadow images and blemishes. So we conceived The Voynich Garden and made some further processing programs to expedite the clipping of the plants and to mount them into their own images.
As we developed the application, it begged to include all of the various plant proposals that researchers had made over the last century. This launched a separate effort to develop various software tools to help collect those from various online sources, standardize them, and load them into the application with their references to the original proposers.
We have not done much to try to promote the application yet. And we will see if it gets enough users to justify maintaining it for the long run.
But thanks for all the comments and feedback that I've received so far!
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| Looking for a copy of "Flora of the Voynich Codex" |
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Posted by: asteckley - 28-09-2023, 09:40 PM - Forum: Voynich Talk
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I understand that there are serious issues with the theory put forth by Tucker et al, and I have not seen evidence that would sway me to their ideas.
However, I cannot take such a stance without looking more thoroughly at their work.
So I am looking to obtain a copy of Tucker & Janick's book "Flora of the Voynich Codex:...".
Does anyone have a used copy they would like to sell?
I have access to an electronic copy, but I am old-school still and prefer a real book, whether it is hardback or paperback.
I certainly don't mind purchasing their book, but the price being asked for a new copy ($260 for hardback, $170 for paperback) is simply unreasonable.
It is basically saying "I don't want anybody to look at my research".
Please PM me if you have a copy that you would be willing to part with.
Thanks!
Andrew
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| New Game in 2024: Codex: The Voynich Manuscript |
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Posted by: merrimacga - 24-09-2023, 03:43 AM - Forum: Fiction, Comics, Films & Videos, Games & other Media
- Replies (12)
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Pug&Duck, founded in 2019, is a German independent publisher of games, calendars, tarot cards and other products. They have a new game titled Codex: The Voynich Manuscript that is scheduled for release June 1, 2024 and is currently available to pre-order on their website. There aren't too many details known yet but below are some links for more information.
Pug&Duck game details page: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Pug&Duck about page: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Game information page on the BoardGameGeek (BGG) website: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
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| Friends of the Library Lecture: Lisa Fagin Davis |
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Posted by: merrimacga - 24-09-2023, 01:20 AM - Forum: News
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Lisa kindly permitted me to post this. Most users will already be very familiar with the information she will be presenting. However, those who are new to the Voynich Manuscript and/or new to this site will no doubt find this an excellent introduction.
Click You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. to open this event in the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view..
Registration Link: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Wellesley College event page (scroll to this event): You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
Secret Code, Lost Language, Nonsense, or Hoax: The Voynich Manuscript's Enduring Mysteries
Oct 18, 4:30–6 PM
Onsite: Newhouse Lounge
Online: Zoom
Free and open to the public (please be sure to register)
Per the event page:
"The Voynich Manuscript (Beinecke Library MS 408) has been called The World's Most Mysterious Manuscript, and for good reason. Written entirely in an otherwise-unattested set of symbols and illustrated with unidentifiable plants, uninterpretable astrological diagrams, and astonishing biological drawings, the Voynich Manuscript (named for bookdealer Wilfrid Voynich) has intrigued, mystified, and frustrated linguists and cryptologists worldwide for centuries. Is it a code? A lost language? Does it have meaning at all? Or is it a hoax perpetrated on the world by a fifteenth-century prankster or modern forger? What do we know, and what do we have yet to learn? In this lecture, Dr. Lisa Fagin Davis, one of the foremost experts on the manuscript, will describe the manuscript's history, walk through its contents, and explain current theories and research methodologies.
Lisa Fagin Davis received her PhD in Medieval Studies from Yale University in 1993 and has catalogued medieval manuscript collections at Wellesley, Tufts, Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, the Walters Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Boston Public Library, and several private collections. She has taught Latin Paleography at Yale University and Rare Book School (Charlottesville) and regularly teaches an introduction to Manuscript Studies at the Simmons University School of Library and Information Science. She was elected to the Comité international de paléographie latine in 2019 and has served as Executive Director of the Medieval Academy of America since 2013."
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| Looking to contact these Voynich researchers... |
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Posted by: asteckley - 21-09-2023, 05:51 AM - Forum: News
- Replies (6)
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I am looking to directly contact any of the historical researchers whose proposals are presented in The Voynich Garden application (You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.). Well, just those who are still with us, obviously.
And any other researchers who have published possible VMS plant identifications that I have not yet gotten to include in the application. I would like to ensure that their plant identifications have been completely and correctly represented.
If anyone has contact info for any of them, please PM me (or just ask them to email me).
Thanks in advance!
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| Dunin & Schmeh: The Voynich Manuscript Compared with Other Encrypted Books |
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Posted by: Scarecrow - 20-09-2023, 10:08 AM - Forum: News
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Abstract
The Voynich Manuscript is definitely not the only encrypted book known to crypto historians.
The authors of this submission are aware of over 100 other tomes that are written completely or to a considerable part in cipher.
This paper provides an overview on these with a focus on their properties and the reasons why they were created.
The main goal of this paper is to compare the Voynich Manuscript with other encrypted books in order to draw conclusions and make educated guesses with respect to some of the unanswered questions surrounding this famous cryptogram.
Most of all, after we categorize the other known encrypted books, then based on the Voynich Manuscript’s similarities with books in various categories, the purpose of the manuscript can be narrowed down with some certainty to two categories: the knowledge book category and the hoax category
You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
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| Ideas for Moving Voynich Research Forward |
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Posted by: Mark Knowles - 19-09-2023, 10:09 PM - Forum: Voynich Talk
- Replies (23)
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It seems like there hasn't been much going on in Voynich research in recent months.
It feels like Nick Pelling's interests have drifted away from the Voynich.
There don't seem to have been many "it is written in" **HISTORIC LANGUAGE** theories presented recently, which I am sure many would suggest is a good thing.
And there don't seem to have been any other discoveries recently.
I have my own research ideas and lines of enquiry; though unfortunately I have been busy with other things of late.
I wonder if there are other research ideas or plans afoot or that others are embarking on.
I think there is plenty of research out there that could be done, though I think that involves specialising on a specific area of Voynich research.
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