JKP makes a very good point. Humans want to make sense of things when they are overwhelmed. This happens when we see MS Beinecke 408, because we don't understand much of it. It happens with images, but also with narratives and interpretations of complex phenomena. This is why conspiracy theories are basically all the same. Why religions are basically all the same. Why a devastating wave of populism is spreading across the western world in these days of economic uncertainty and mass migration.
It's human nature. We look for an explanation, an easy solution. And those solutions are often the same, because we all have the same primate brains in our skulls.
In science, we try to shield ourselves from those biases that are present in all of our minds. We impose upon ourselves rigorous methods and limitations. If we, knowingly or not, cast off the armor of science, we all get exposed to the same human biases. That is why so many Voynich "theories" smell the same. They are reached by following the path of least resistance, and rushing towards the comfort of catch-all solutions.
That is why in so many solutions you get semi-grammatical strings of words that don't really tell much, but still enough to allow one to form some kind of narrative. Research into historical practice, custom and linguistics is not necessary, because the tools of science have been left at the entrance.
Open up an online scan of a "normal" English manuscript from the 15th century. Read it. Translate it. Notice that you get in trouble in the first line, and are not able to do it without consulting other sources. That is why I have a hard time taking serious all those people who claim that they can translate paragraphs from the VM at a whim.
It's human nature. We look for an explanation, an easy solution. And those solutions are often the same, because we all have the same primate brains in our skulls.
In science, we try to shield ourselves from those biases that are present in all of our minds. We impose upon ourselves rigorous methods and limitations. If we, knowingly or not, cast off the armor of science, we all get exposed to the same human biases. That is why so many Voynich "theories" smell the same. They are reached by following the path of least resistance, and rushing towards the comfort of catch-all solutions.
That is why in so many solutions you get semi-grammatical strings of words that don't really tell much, but still enough to allow one to form some kind of narrative. Research into historical practice, custom and linguistics is not necessary, because the tools of science have been left at the entrance.
Open up an online scan of a "normal" English manuscript from the 15th century. Read it. Translate it. Notice that you get in trouble in the first line, and are not able to do it without consulting other sources. That is why I have a hard time taking serious all those people who claim that they can translate paragraphs from the VM at a whim.