Mark Knowles > 08-10-2022, 10:50 AM
Anton > 08-10-2022, 05:58 PM
Quote:if individuals select a topic to pursue for some time until they can be said to have really advanced our understanding of the topic
bi3mw > 08-10-2022, 06:45 PM
(08-10-2022, 10:50 AM)Mark Knowles Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.It seems to me that most people flit from topic to topic, ....
Mark Knowles > 08-10-2022, 06:58 PM
bi3mw > 08-10-2022, 07:09 PM
Mark Knowles > 08-10-2022, 08:52 PM
(08-10-2022, 07:09 PM)bi3mw Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.(08-10-2022, 06:58 PM)Mark Knowles Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Now if someone's preference is for their own entertainment rather than advancing research that is OK
I would say that entertainment and trying to contribute to research are not mutually exclusive.
Anton > 08-10-2022, 09:00 PM
(08-10-2022, 06:58 PM)Mark Knowles Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I can think of many topics that could benefit from in depth research into them. For example, it seems clear to me that nobody has made a concerted effort to track down as many as possible of the surviving herbal manuscripts from the time of the Voynich and from say the proceeding century. Someone so doing could then make a systematic comparison of these manuscripts themselves and also with the Voynich and see where it fits into the pattern. Certainly some work has been done in this area, but clearly significantly more could be done.
(08-10-2022, 08:52 PM)Mark Knowles Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.No, they are not mutually exclusive. However I still contest that specialisation in Voynich research would push research forward and people, like me, can specialise and still do research as a hobby; specialisation is not something only for full-time professionals.
Mark Knowles > 08-10-2022, 09:31 PM
(08-10-2022, 09:00 PM)Anton Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Voynich research is basically a no-commitment endeavour. People do what they like, there's no stimulus for them to change their behaviour.I suppose it depends on what motivates them. I don't find it unpleasant or irksome to specialise in some areas of Voynich research; I don't find it less enjoyable, in fact I find it more enjoyable as I am working to expand knowledge.
Koen G > 08-10-2022, 10:59 PM
Mark Knowles > 09-10-2022, 11:04 AM
(08-10-2022, 10:59 PM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.There are many aspects to this, and in my opinion it's quite complex.
On the one hand, specialisation is useful. If someone spends every day reading up on the same topic, researching this topic, writing about it, teaching about it... They will achieve a level of understanding and proficiency that is hard to reach by a generalist. Therefore, I welcome every specialist opinion on or contribution to the study of the VM.
On the other hand though, the VM is also its own kind of specialty. It offers unique challenges in various fields, that require solutions which may not readily belong to the specialist's toolkit. It is possible that the VM can only be solved through a more wholistic approach, focusing on one aspect but being aware of the others.
Initially I was drawn entirely to the imagery, but I also felt the need to understand the text. I found that I could only do this by venturing well outside of my comfort zone, and also remaining aware that I was outside of my comfort zone. (The thread "Koen needs statistics advice" is probably still one of the larger ones on the forum).
There is another advantage to studying various aspects of the MS. As mentioned, I can really obsess over a small part (like the legs on a lobster, sleeves on a dress, the way two figures hold hands). This is good as preseverance may lead to results. But it can also help to do something completely different for a while (e.g. text statistics) to take some distance from the other subject (imagery) and be able to return to is as if you're somebody else reading it for the first time.