The 'Chinese' Theory: For and Against

[eggyk]

Here is the plot:

I should discuss this match more (including show what happens when I ask for more cribs) but that has to wait for the next post.

All the best, --stolfi

So, why wouldn't something like this be as valid? 2 strong matches linking 主 to "okche" (one is opche, a clear spelling error where the author mistakenly used p instead of k), one faint/weak match (likely due to the uneven spacing of characters on the top row). But more importantly, no leftover instances of "okche" that match to nothing. 

   

Or a different angle: "Lorem ipsum daiin", where DAIIN is added to lorem ipsum text after every 15 words (after the first). It looks promising. 

   

Allowing spelling errors is not great, but it can at least be justified to a certain extent. However, I do not know what your justification is for all of these non matches. In your plot, only 50% of daiins match to 主. The fact that there are 2 instances where daiin blatantly doesn't match to anything, and one instance of a double daiin where none is present in the SBJ is surely strong evidence that there isn't a match. 

In order for this match to be considered a match, in my view 2 criteria must be satisfied: 

1) instances of daiin convincingly match to 主
AND
2) instances of daiin do not consistently fail to match to anything

The plot potentially satisfies the first. It fails the second. 

You can work out the expected match rate based on random chance, I suppose, but any dictation/copying scenario is not subject to random chance. You have to take into account the probability of the author incorrectly writing daiin (a common word) 3 times, when he is supposed to have a strong enough grasp of the language to be able to consistently understand and differentiate tones. That is difficult to believe.

It is also worth mentioning that using random chance is also inappropriate in the sense that words in languages follow structural patterns, which certainly applies to chinese and may apply to voynichese. It's entirely plausible that the VMS is the same type of written content as the SBJ (recipe books for instance), but that recipes themselves have broad shared patterns across many/all languages. I'm reminded of the herbal passage transcribed in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. that also writes its content in a similar way: 

1. Herb name: Pentadatillus; others call it Palma Christi, others Castos Oro guardian of the garden, others
2. Priapiscus, and others Girasol; the Greeks call it Tebeet, and the Gauls call it Perga Major. Herb grows
3. in gardens, fields, and mountains, similar to hellebore. Herb has broad leaves,
4. split like a wild fig tree, and it bears a certain round pod like wild burdock.
5. In this small pod, something is enclosed that resembles a certain worm,
6. common name: cetha. This herb is called Girasol because its leaves turn
7. according to the turning of the sun; just as the sun beams brightly, so these leaves turn themselves with the sun. The flower
8. does the same. The crushed seed of this plant's black pods, when drunk with wine,
9. warm, relieves [indecipherable]. [Indecipherable] is spherical, and [indecipherable]
10. madness, and when eaten it is beneficial against bloating/flatulence, which it solves. Likewise, its seed gives
11. the virtue of walking invisibly, according to what is found in Dioscorides, who
12. says expressly: 'Take nine seeds of this herb during the harvest, and plant them
13. inside the head of a black [indecipherable], and place it in the earth.'

Herb name(s)  --->   where it grows  --->  how it looks/acts  --->   how its used to treat   ---> how to use the seeds

I would speculate that a match to this type of content would also provide spurious "above chance" matches to other similar content, based on structure and topic alone.