29-04-2021, 09:43 PM
Geoffrey, allow me to make a suggestion. Your hypothesis is that the VMs is enciphered Middle English and has to do with Edward, Second Duke of York. Your null hypothesis, therefore, is that the VMs is not enciphered Middle English, and has nothing to do with Edward, Second Duke of York. Falsify this null hypothesis. If it’s not true that the VMs is not enciphered Middle English and has nothing to do with Edward, Second Duke of York, what might one expect to find? I strongly recommend inviting other researchers to help you with making a list of findable things in the VMs that one should expect to find, if your null hypothesis is wrong. Then go looking for those things. If you and/or other researchers readily find examples in the VMs of most of the items you listed, then reject the null hypothesis, and proceed from the assumption that against any appearances to the contrary, the VMs is enciphered Middle English, and has to do with Edward, Second Duke of York.
On the other hand, if your scavenger hunt doesn’t turn up much, that doesn’t mean your hypothesis isn’t true. But it does mean it’s probably too far-fetched to be worth pursuing further, barring you finding a multitude of things that resist any other plausible explanation.
But this is only a suggestion. It’s your project. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. ?
On the other hand, if your scavenger hunt doesn’t turn up much, that doesn’t mean your hypothesis isn’t true. But it does mean it’s probably too far-fetched to be worth pursuing further, barring you finding a multitude of things that resist any other plausible explanation.
But this is only a suggestion. It’s your project. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. ?