[split] On the validation of Theories

[ReneZ]

"Proving"  is one of these difficult concepts.
I think that it is next to impossible to disprove any of the existing Voynich theories.
The best one can hope to do is to:
- show they are extremely unlikely
- show that they are not based on any evidence
- show that the logic is faulty
(and maybe a few more)

In US court (and possibly elsewhere) there is this phrase "beyond reasonable doubt".
This moves the difficultly from the word "proof" to the word "reasonable".
Still, it is deemed good enough to send people to prison for life.

The question how many people believe a theory or not is also not a good criterium.
It would be more valuable to get the opinion from "informed" people, i.e. people who are familiar with the history of science, the history of book making etc etc.

Just an example: if one were to go out and ask people whether travel faster than light is possible, I am sure one would get a lot of positive answers.