No text, but a visual code

[Jorge_Stolfi]

I'm surprised that a university professor of some renown like yourself speaks about knowledge in this way.

But Forte's Law is real.  If we really want something to be "true", we can always find an "expert" who says just that.

Take for example the question of the nature of the VMS ink.  We have one "expert", McCrone Inc, who states that it is iron-gall ink.  But we also have these "experts" You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., whose goal is to distinguish iron-gall from ochre paint, who say that "iron gall inks absorb infrared radiation up to 1200 nm, while ochre already become transparent at 850 nm".  And anyone can look at the multi-spectral image sets from the Lazarus project and verify that the ink is virtually invisible already at 940 nm.

So, each of us must choose the "expert opinion" that one likes the most. Many seem to have chosen the "iron-gall" option.   Perhaps because "ocher" would feed the suspicion that the VMS is a whale, not a fish?

If we live better than our parents and grandparents, it is thanks to knowledge.

Knowledge is great.  The problem is that no one, including experts, will gain it just for holding a certain job...

All the best, --stolfi