24-07-2025, 12:20 AM
One problem for me is that a very large percentage of illustration analyses are essentially untestable. These are hypotheses for which there is nothing that helps to confirm or deny them. This is when I feel one is on thin ice.
'Looks like' is subjective. Now in some, relatively rare, cases there are many people with the same opinion (e.g. the viola-type plant on f9v) and in others it is much more individual. Again in the majority of cases we just have 'looks like', and there is nothing else.
The castle on the rosettes page was just mentioned, which is a good example.
This not just looks like a castle - it is one. I cannot imagine that many will disagree.
But what does it signify? We have nothing to answer that question except hypotheses that cannot be tested.
My own hypothesis is that the whole upper right rosette represents 'Earth', perhaps the element, or perhaps the world we stand on. But I am only too aware it is not a very strong hypothesis.
'Looks like' is subjective. Now in some, relatively rare, cases there are many people with the same opinion (e.g. the viola-type plant on f9v) and in others it is much more individual. Again in the majority of cases we just have 'looks like', and there is nothing else.
The castle on the rosettes page was just mentioned, which is a good example.
This not just looks like a castle - it is one. I cannot imagine that many will disagree.
But what does it signify? We have nothing to answer that question except hypotheses that cannot be tested.
My own hypothesis is that the whole upper right rosette represents 'Earth', perhaps the element, or perhaps the world we stand on. But I am only too aware it is not a very strong hypothesis.