05-02-2025, 12:06 PM
Grants might work if they are targeted correctly. You can't just write out a grant for someone or a team to "solve the Voynich", because they might just come up with a bad theory.
What I would do if I had a couple of millions to spare would be to issue targeted grants. Pay researchers with archive experience to comb through undigitized archives looking for specific things. For example, undigitized Zodiac sequences of a certain kind. Issue bonuses for each relevant item found. This would all be defined in concrete terms. For example, you could issue a bonus for each previously unknown crossbow Sagittarius found. I could think of a dozen such things where targeted efforts by specialized scholars could teach us more about the manuscript. Basically the same kind of things we do, but by someone with professional access to archives in their area and experience in using them. The kinds of things that are hard to do for us "volunteers".
In a way this is the opposite of offering a reward for a solution. I agree with Rene that there would also be litigations and lots of general unpleasantness in that case. And you can be certain that theorists will sue. Even with no money on the line, two separate individuals have threatened with legal actions against me already for speaking out against their truth. Grants would not cause these issues because they are basically contracts: I expect this from you and I'm paying you this much.
What I would do if I had a couple of millions to spare would be to issue targeted grants. Pay researchers with archive experience to comb through undigitized archives looking for specific things. For example, undigitized Zodiac sequences of a certain kind. Issue bonuses for each relevant item found. This would all be defined in concrete terms. For example, you could issue a bonus for each previously unknown crossbow Sagittarius found. I could think of a dozen such things where targeted efforts by specialized scholars could teach us more about the manuscript. Basically the same kind of things we do, but by someone with professional access to archives in their area and experience in using them. The kinds of things that are hard to do for us "volunteers".
In a way this is the opposite of offering a reward for a solution. I agree with Rene that there would also be litigations and lots of general unpleasantness in that case. And you can be certain that theorists will sue. Even with no money on the line, two separate individuals have threatened with legal actions against me already for speaking out against their truth. Grants would not cause these issues because they are basically contracts: I expect this from you and I'm paying you this much.
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