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Elephant in the Room Solution Considerations
- Elephant in the Room Solution Considerations
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Elephant in the Room Solution Considerations
MHTamdgidi_(Behrooz) > 5 hours ago
Hi everyone,
My name is Mohammad H. Tamdgidi (nicknamed Behrooz, which you can call me by for ease of communication).
I am new to Voynich research. I have had a bit of time recently to acquaint myself with this interesting puzzle. I do not plan on staying here for too long given other prior research commitments. By signing up I wish to learn more about your good work (including access to the links and images/documents) to the extent time allows. I am most appreciative of all the care and critical considerations you have offered for solving this puzzle and will try the best I can to help you solve it, if possible.
My interest in this topic, as in others I have explored, is mainly methodological. But of course, that interest can be best explored in a substantive way. Having learned some things already from your contributions, I believe that you have found a lot already toward a viable solution. From past and other research experiences, I have found that there is at times a tendency in researchers to try to prove their own finding(s) and (for that reason) dismissing others, at times reasonably done, and at other times perhaps not as reasonably.
Sometimes rivalries become themselves a cause for not realizing that each is seeing a part of the elephant, so to speak. Also, given the reputation or intimidation of a long-lasting puzzle to solve, we may ignore useful contributions others have made, small or large, to solving the puzzle. This then results sometimes in not seeing the elephant in the room. So, I use (as I have done so in my other research and publications) the metaphor of the elephant in the double senses expressed above (seeing whole/parts, and not noticing some obvious issues or contributions).
I am a sociologist, specializing in the sociology of (self-)knowledge and hermeneutics, interested in advancing transdisciplinary and transcultural approaching to solving long-standing puzzles especially in the intersection of mysticism, utopianism, and science. I have published both academically, and independently by way of a research center I established in 2002 to frame my independent research (for more information you can visit my site at You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.). I have noted that in your discussions you have desired for others with academic training to get involved. I found that encouraging when considering participating in this forum.
I am beginning this first post just as an introduction, placing it in your Theories & Solutions section and titling it “Elephant in the Room Solution Considerations," in the spirit of what I shared above, and to offer a space where discussions can be advanced in the spirit of realizing that any solution to the Voynich enigma can and only be a collective solution to which every one of you have contributed immensely, and to which I also wish to also contribute if at all possible. I have learned a lot already from all of you, and the tools that have been accumulated over the decades to solve this puzzle are incredibly helpful and creatively (and time-consumingly) devised.
Given time constraints and in the spirit of trying to test anything I may offer by way of a step-by-step logical procedure, I will just share whatever I have found gradually and hopefully by way of careful and critical feedback you may offer I will correct any errors I have made to improve what I can still offer, if at all worthwhile.
Since it is not possible for me due to time constraints to know every detail of contributions made over the long past, I will welcome and request from you that you inform me and others of any contributions you have made in cases where I am not sure of the specifics of the chain of acknowledgments to be given for any idea I will share. Where I know I have learned something on a specific topic, I will surely acknowledge it, and if I miss doing so unknowingly, please correct me.
I am not a linguist, nor involved in quantitative or statistical research, though I appreciate others’ contributions using those approaches. I think they will also be needed for seeing the whole elephant (in the room). My solution contributions will be informed by my sociological viewpoint, especially in the tradition of the sociological imagination, a term coined by the sociologist C. Wright Mills in 1959, suggesting that social (including personal) life can be best understood by way of exploring how personal troubles and public issues interact. I think that is helpful also in historical and hermeneutic studies.
The Voynich manuscript is an artifact that must have originated in the intimate intersection of biographical and historical contexts in which someone (or persons related) was dealing with personal troubles amid public issues of their times.
I have absolutely no problem with being proven wrong, reasonably, in any contribution I make. I have learned from prior work that such realizations are not only necessary for scientific research but also for opening more fruitful ways of solving puzzles. However, I do reserve the right of not agreeing with an argument that I may not find reasonably made.
What I wish to encourage in this thread is for everyone to see it not as an “alternative” solution, but one in which their own contribution can be made fruitfully. I will try to show that any solution ideas I will offer will be based on a synthesis of the best and most reasonable contributions you all have made to solving the puzzle, of course adding any new ideas I may also offer, subject to your critical consideration.
(Note to the moderator, Tavie: With greetings, if you think this post still is a talk and not yet a solution, please feel welcome to move it to the Talk section. However, I will be gradually making some solution-oriented posts following this introductory post—not sure exactly how soon but will do my best to do so in a timely way). -
RE: Elephant in the Room Solution Considerations
Bluetoes101 > 5 hours ago
Welcome Behrooz, it is nice to see a "wall of text" in this section of the forum by a first time poster that is not AI garbage
.
Without seeing what you know so far, it's hard to point you in directions that are not a waste of time for you. What are you interested in, or think you may need from others research that would help your own? -
RE: Elephant in the Room Solution Considerations
MHTamdgidi_(Behrooz) > 5 hours ago
Hi Bluetoes101,
Thanks for your welcome and sorry for the wall (I must have apologized in advance). I thought of just getting some basics out so I can get back to sharing anything, hopefully in a shorter way! Also registering allows me now to see more of the links and images previously seen as not clickable, and to search. So please give me a little time to get back to you and all with any ideas I may have to share, or questions I may need to update myself about on latest findings on a topic. Sorry for not being more specific or forthcoming now. The wall already took a bit of my time too! In any case, it is nice to hear from you. -
RE: Elephant in the Room Solution Considerations
Bluetoes101 > 5 hours ago
No problem, I didn't mean it in a bad way. It's good to see this much info, just usually when we do it's AI generated "slop".
Hope you find some useful info while looking around. There's a lot of blogs with good info, I just don't want to point you to any and it be totally irrelevant to your interests.
A safe one for general info is Rene's site - You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. (if you have not read what is on here already) -
RE: Elephant in the Room Solution Considerations
MHTamdgidi_(Behrooz) > 4 hours ago
Hi Bluetoes101,
Yes, I know of Rene's excellent site. There are many current (or older) other very helpful blog URLs listed in this forum's helpful Blogosphere reader page which I have bookmarked and have been looking into. There is a lot to catch up, literally decades (well, centuries … given the VM itself) of them, and not sure I ever will catch up.
I have learned from other research that enigmas such as these can be very hypnotic and can pull you in forever, and I like to remind myself that I don't have centuries or perhaps even decades, or years, left, so I need to be careful with balancing my time. I will "try" to be mindful of that and whenever I feel I am not helpful, I will not take more of others time. On the other hand, I thought perhaps I can also help you all solve this in a way that is helpful with your time as well. With best wishes …