08-10-2025, 06:05 PM
Welcome, @anyasophia. First, let me just say that I relate to your hesitancy to jump in and get involved. Like you, I’m an educated professional (46 year old general practice physician). I’m also an amateur linguist, historian, and mystery solver, and a lifelong lover of words. I got sucked into the VMS rabbit hole in the 2010s, because it seemed tangentially relevant to both my profession and my hobbies. And here’s what I’ve found: The VMS humbles people. (Which is a good thing.)
I’m not only referring to the book itself. I have been humbled by the many amateur and professional scholars here at Voynich.ninja and the blogosphere, many of whom have education and training in bodies of knowledge I don’t have, which have turned out to be much more useful and relevant to attacking this mystery than anything I’m practiced at. The culture and tone of discourse of the VMS community were an acquired taste for me. I definitely got told off a couple times here as a noob. I lived and learned. Ironically, one lesson I had drilled into me in medical training turned out to be extremely relevant to my participation in this community: Always keep in mind what I do not know, and always be honest about what I do not know. I’ve seen a lot of well-meaning and thoughtful but odd people find their way here, break this rule, and lose their interest in the VMS when they’re written off as cranks. And I’ve seen a lot of bona fide cranks come and go here too, lol.
Anyhow, I just wanted to say I like the focus of this study very much. Like a good scientist, historian, or philosopher of the Analytical school, your study here narrows in on one specific exemplar, analyzes it systematically, and sticks entirely to the facts of what’s there on the page, no more no less. This study, or one like it, could be a valuable stepping stone to understanding the structure of Voynichese, what (if any) information it encodes, and how it encodes it.
I think we’ve all taken a long pause looking at f65r: It really is a uniquely brief herbal page. But I can’t recall anyone doing anywhere as in-depth an analysis of f65r. I’m definitely following this to see what you turn up, and where further research leads you.
Welcome
I’m not only referring to the book itself. I have been humbled by the many amateur and professional scholars here at Voynich.ninja and the blogosphere, many of whom have education and training in bodies of knowledge I don’t have, which have turned out to be much more useful and relevant to attacking this mystery than anything I’m practiced at. The culture and tone of discourse of the VMS community were an acquired taste for me. I definitely got told off a couple times here as a noob. I lived and learned. Ironically, one lesson I had drilled into me in medical training turned out to be extremely relevant to my participation in this community: Always keep in mind what I do not know, and always be honest about what I do not know. I’ve seen a lot of well-meaning and thoughtful but odd people find their way here, break this rule, and lose their interest in the VMS when they’re written off as cranks. And I’ve seen a lot of bona fide cranks come and go here too, lol.
Anyhow, I just wanted to say I like the focus of this study very much. Like a good scientist, historian, or philosopher of the Analytical school, your study here narrows in on one specific exemplar, analyzes it systematically, and sticks entirely to the facts of what’s there on the page, no more no less. This study, or one like it, could be a valuable stepping stone to understanding the structure of Voynichese, what (if any) information it encodes, and how it encodes it.
I think we’ve all taken a long pause looking at f65r: It really is a uniquely brief herbal page. But I can’t recall anyone doing anywhere as in-depth an analysis of f65r. I’m definitely following this to see what you turn up, and where further research leads you.
Welcome
![[+]](https://www.voynich.ninja/images/collapse_collapsed.png)