RE: How would you decipher the Voynich?
R. Sale > 29-04-2023, 10:59 PM
Well, that's the problem, then. Simple substitution has been eliminated, and after simple substitution comes complex substitution, but how complex is the VMs solution? Methodology is clearly a prime aspect of VMs language investigation, but it is not the only significant factor. Methodology must operate on a subject.
What is the subject? What segment of text is selected for examination? Something random, just start at the beginning, try to find a familiar plant? They haven't produced anything useful.
If the author did not have strong encryption and was cognizant of that reality, still, needing to record a message, what tactics could be used? Isn't it better to split the message into parts and hide the text segments in the illustrations? Stolfi's markers are clearly adequate to the task, but were they created with purpose? If that 'purpose' is determined by the intent in the structure of the illustrations, then purpose is clearly there.
A reassembled text may have unique properties. Perhaps it might be more open to translation. Looking at the markers in various circular bands of text, there is a fair variety of different examples. So, this really is the garden of forking paths as to what to include and what to omit. Consequently, this is an investigation that should be guided by consensus rather than individual preference.