05-03-2017, 01:01 PM
Even before I started seriously looking at the VMS text, I had a "same but different" feeling about the VMS labels.
Since many old languages use letters for numbers (the difference being indicated by context or with a line or dot), it's entirely possible that this kind of same-but-different characteristic (the same glyphs in the same general formats but not necessarily offering an obvious interpretation when compared with other text) might come about if different parts of the same manuscript used a system like Hebrew, Greek, or other languages in which the letter-forms do double duty as letters or numbers.
I'm not saying this is how the VMS is constructed but there is a clear precedent that could create this kind of pattern.
Since many old languages use letters for numbers (the difference being indicated by context or with a line or dot), it's entirely possible that this kind of same-but-different characteristic (the same glyphs in the same general formats but not necessarily offering an obvious interpretation when compared with other text) might come about if different parts of the same manuscript used a system like Hebrew, Greek, or other languages in which the letter-forms do double duty as letters or numbers.
I'm not saying this is how the VMS is constructed but there is a clear precedent that could create this kind of pattern.
