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Ars Alembica - R. Sale - 14-10-2017
A distillation of ideas:
Recently there were several discussions and comments about the art of distillation, both in a physical, mechanistic sense and also in a more investigative and methodological interpretation. Distillation is a method of physical separation, using heat, of the more volatile materials, done within an enclosed system that allows for the collection and condensation of the distillate. Ideologically, distillation is a process of selection based on a set of criteria determined by the investigator. We all do it. In any proposition, we all select the best examples to demonstrate a point of discussion. How else can facts be established? Of course, the problem in VMs research often comes, as in a recent publication, where facts are said to be established, when they clearly are not.
The process of selection in such cases may be referred to as “cherry picking”. That is the presentation of a few examples, which may be random, that follow a particular set of criteria, which is otherwise unable to produce useful data. A few scattered words “translated” do not constitute a valid method of interpretation. Failed selective processes are sometimes referred to a category called: Garbage in; garbage out (GIGO). If you put garbage into a process of investigation, you won’t be getting cherries out. Furthermore, this does not address the significance of potential flaws in the nature of the investigative, selection process. You can put good VMs data in and get garbage out. The selection process needs to produce more than examples of tautological validity. The examples need to have a functional aspect that opens the possibility for further investigation.
VMs investigation has a long history of apparent failure. All attempts to read it have failed. All investigations of its origins have come up short. The proposed examples for translation are not really cherries at all. The selections were apparently flawed. The process of selection may not be valid. Nevertheless, taking the conclusion that all investigations based on specific selection of examples are necessarily invalidated would be, in fact, a flawed syllogism. Nothing requires that the process of distillation begin with garbage. And rather than have the specific process of selection be determined by the investigator, as happens more often in linguistic investigation, let it be determined by the independent sources of real, historical representations.
Distillation is a process of selection. The art of distillation is in knowing the proper materials and in finding the correct process for their selection. This is, perhaps, best illustrated by an example – and let that selection be one of the more significant, recent discoveries; the comparison (by E. Velinska in 2014) of VMs You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. with the Oresme version of the cosmos. Let’s briefly examine that comparison.
The cosmos illustrated in the Oresme diagram is concerned with the presence of the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. The central sphere is divided; half goes to water and a quarter each to earth and air. This sphere is then surrounded by stars. This type of sphere has other examples, but in combination with the starry background, there is an increased similarity between the VMs and Oresme examples. There is an alternate structure for medieval cosmic representations based on concentric circles for all the moon, sun, planets, and stars representing the music of the spheres.
In the comparison of the VMs drawing with the Oresme illustration, the similarity of the central sphere is good, the comparison of the starry field is fair, the correspondence of the outer boundary is poor. That is, it appears to be a poor comparison on a strictly visual basis. In the comparison of the Oresme and VMs You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. selections, what is the weakest area of comparison? It is the elaborate, circular, outer ring of the Oresme cloud band and the plain nebuly line of the VMs representation. [The VMs also has curved, spoke-like banners connecting to a larger, circular band, all filled in with written text.]
The weakness of the VMs diagram is the absence of a cloud band similar to that of the Oresme original. Such a cloud band was later discovered by D. Hoffmann in the VMs central rosette. The basic structure of the VMs cloud band, which is based on an alternating scallop-shell pattern, is very similar to the Oresme original. It even has blue paint. If it were possible to combine this cloud band from the central rosette with the sphere and stars of VMs f68v, this would greatly strengthen the similarities of this comparison. They are not connected physically, but can they be connected ideologically? The parts are there that would represent a copy of the Oresme version of the cosmos more closely than any other historical example presently known. Is ideological connection a possibility?
Here is where the ars comes in. It is in the choice of selections. VMs You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. is not some anachronistic view of the Andromeda galaxy. Such proposals reveal a lack of basic understanding of medieval scientific works such as Oresme and the other sources. But that is how the process goes if we start with the wrong selections. The ars is one of two things. It is either a strict matter of creation by the investigator without intent and/or content in the source. Or it is a matter of intentional construction on the page by some historical source, a person or persons who produced the VMs.
While some will automatically negate the possibility of such an ideological connection, I would say that the matter can not be determined on the basis of a single example. Both of the necessary elements to reconstruct a most interesting, cosmic illustration do exist in the VMs. It is a question of whether the potential connection is present. So rather than one example of such a connection, here are four questions that open various inquiries into similar situations.
Can Oresme’s cosmos be reconstructed with VMs parts? [As above]
Do some of the tub patterns from VMs Pisces and Aries pages correspond with traditional heraldic insignia?
What is the historical origin of the Roman Catholic tradition of the cardinal’s red galero?
Can heraldic canting confirm historical identification in the VMs?
All answers are based on tradition and historical information prior to 1400. All answers are found in the VMs illustrations, but have been visually altered, separated, hidden or obfuscated in some way, while at the same time secretly retaining the standard positioning and confirming their identity through proper placement according to tradition, similar design, essential color and so on. In each case some trickery was used. In each case the construction was intentional. The radial versus non-radial interpretation of the orientation of two blue-striped tub patterns on VMs White Aries is a prime example. It is a clear example of the use of an optical illusion.
When conducted properly, distillation will normally produce a more concentrated solution. No pretence has been made to suggest that this solution is sufficiently concentrated to crystallize at present. However the process itself is surely not inherently flawed, as some apparently perceive it to be. Many selections may have failed, but specific selection is not ineluctably tied to failure. It is simply a fact that the results derived are highly dependent on the specific nature of the starting materials. Garbage in will always give you garbage out. Garbage in will not give you roses. However roses in will give you rose water. We don’t have to put garbage in. Surely it is better to use VMs images that can be tied to historical illustrations and traditions – like Oresme’s cosmos. Better yet in the pairings of the VMs Zodiac’s Pisces through Cancer. It’s hard to get garbage to pair up like that. Perhaps a container full of Nikes washed ashore. No emotive exhalation will change it. If it is assumed that the VMs author has provided this sort of hidden information, a trail of breadcrumbs, does it also have to follow that these are glow-in-the-dark breadcrumbs that are plain for all to see? Clearly in some parts the clues are paired. That should work in the daylight. However, if an investigator can neither name or identify the heraldic fur of papelonny, it is unlikely to be discovered or recognized among the VMs examples – thus putting the matter of heraldic canting totally beyond that investigator’s reach. Productive distillation can only proceed if the proper materials can be found.