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Voynich finally cracked?

Started by biggytitbo, May 16, 2019, 07:59:02 AM

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biggytitbo

Some bloke claims to have finally solved the mysterious Voynich manuscript - https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/may/16/latin-hebrew-proto-romance-new-theory-on-voynich-manuscript

QuoteNow a British academic has claimed the manuscript is a type of therapeutic reference book composed by nuns for Maria of Castile, queen of Aragon, in a lost language known as proto-Romance.

Interesting but I'm sceptical about how glib he is about it, he's basically making out he did it spinning on his cock, despite the fact is has defied thousands of others, and anyone who disagrees with is theory can shove it up their arse.

I've always thought it was probably some kind of grand folly in a made up language rather than a real book written in code. That or it's aliens.

Didn't someone 'crack' it about two years ago, claiming it was a women's sexual health manual? I thought that one was pretty plausible.

Paul Calf

QuoteI've always thought it was probably some kind of grand folly in a made up language

So like a 15th-Century version of The Unredacted?

Looks as though Dr. Cheshire has had a religious experience of his own there.

Zetetic


dr beat

I have an acquaintance who is a Medievalist at Bristol and they are not happy at all about this claim, think it's cobblers and damaging for the reputation of their field.

biggytitbo

Quote from: Baron von Klaus on May 16, 2019, 08:02:38 AM
Didn't someone 'crack' it about two years ago, claiming it was a women's sexual health manual? I thought that one was pretty plausible.


Someone cracks it about once a fortnight but it usually turns out they are talking bollocks.

touchingcloth

Quote from: biggytitbo on May 16, 2019, 08:51:23 AM

Someone cracks it about once a fortnight but it usually turns out they are talking bollocks.

Which is ironic really as no one so far has realised that the manuscript is a treatise on testicles.

Cuellar

Probably the product of a medieval psychotic. Ramblings of an madman.

Pijlstaart

What is the world without her little mysteries? It is right we do not know, curiosity killed the cat. Think we all need to take a long hard look at ourselves, but not too hard, or we might learn something. No, this is all far too much.

Sin Agog

My little sister has a rare autistic condition known as Kabuki Syndrome that meant she spent the first seven, eight years of her life talking her own made-up language, and writing recognisable repeated patterns that may also have been her own invented script.  I reckon she's the one who wrote the Voynich manuscript.

a duncandisorderly

Quote from: Pijlstaart on May 16, 2019, 11:35:40 AM
What is the world without her little mysteries? It is right we do not know, curiosity killed the cat. Think we all need to take a long hard look at ourselves, but not too hard, or we might learn something. No, this is all far too much.

well, for my money, there are too many damn cats & not enough curiosity.

JesusAndYourBush

Quote from: biggytitbo on May 16, 2019, 07:59:02 AM
Some bloke claims to have finally solved the mysterious Voynich manuscript - https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/may/16/latin-hebrew-proto-romance-new-theory-on-voynich-manuscript

Well, if he bothers to show his working out (as my maths teacher used to demand) and if it stands up to scrutiny then that's all well and good.  (I assume this is complex enough that his working out isn't all in his head like mine was, and hence the reason why I hadn't shown it.)

Blumf

His working out is in his uncle's loft, but you're not allowed up there to see it.

dallasman

I saw a documentary about this years ago, and they were basically saying the same thing, from what I recall. It's about gross ladybusiness, so they invented a code language to guard ladies' modesty, make it less enticing to pervs and more fun for doctors. This new guy's wrinkle is that it's actually not a code, but a proper language that was well common back in the day, and this proto-Goop screed is the only surviving example. This is the guy, Gerard Cheshire:



Not sold on this guy. Those are books he made himself, all about Scary Creatures found in different places. What, like the beaver, Gerard? You scared of the beaver, you bald stripey pussy? Not buying your book, Gerard. Says here it's peer-reviewed, but that just means the reviewers peered at the paper, right? These clowns. Fucking shambles. I suppose he has a hot new take on who wrote all the Dickens too?

Cuellar

If it's written in a language common at the time, why aren't there any other books written in that language?

Ferris

I liked the solver's attitude.

"Impenetrable riddle? Solved it mate, easy peasy, piece of piss, 2 weeks and it's done, did it on me holidays, took it to Tenerife and had a read by the pool and now it's finished"

ajsmith2

Quote from: Cuellar on May 16, 2019, 12:27:08 PM
If it's written in a language common at the time, why aren't there any other books written in that language?

Although I'm doubtful about it 'being a common language of the time' as the definitive answer, I don't find the bit you've highlighted that hard to believe, given that it was a huge undertaking to make even one book at the time, there was no means of mass production/printing and survival rates for such items after 500 odd years are likely pretty low.

biggytitbo

They would have etched a few rude limericks on the walls of a medieval lav though couldn't they? Or on a tapestry.

Cuellar

Quote from: ajsmith2 on May 16, 2019, 01:30:39 PM
Although I'm doubtful about it 'being a common language of the time' as the definitive answer, I don't find the bit you've highlighted that hard to believe, given that it was a huge undertaking to make even one book at the time, there was no means of mass production/printing and survival rates for such items after 500 odd years are likely pretty low.

If it was made in a religious community (as the guy suggests), they WERE the mass producers of books. Its surely odd that nothing, not a scrap, not a marginal note, not anything in the same script has been found.

Anyway. After being roundly rinsed by linguists and historians on twitter, it seems Bristol have deleted their big press release about this because it turns out, surprise surprise, to be gubbins.

thenoise

Quote from: Baron von Klaus on May 16, 2019, 08:02:38 AM
Didn't someone 'crack' it about two years ago, claiming it was a women's sexual health manual? I thought that one was pretty plausible.

Have we tried asking any women at all?

BlodwynPig

Quote from: Baron von Klaus on May 16, 2019, 08:02:38 AM
Didn't someone 'crack' it about two years ago, claiming it was a women's sexual health manual? I thought that one was pretty plausible.

And you're an expert?

This is clearly Proto-Geordie.

Cuellar

Thread from linguist about why it's shite. Points out that the author claims these proto-Romance words survive in various Romance languages but includes Greek in these.

https://twitter.com/benjcartlidge/status/1128987248597315585

FredNurke

Jesus, it's a small world. Said linguist is a mate of mine, and absolutely, definitely, knows what he's talking about.

BlodwynPig

Quote from: FredNurke on May 16, 2019, 03:39:36 PM
Jesus, it's a small world. Said linguist is a mate of mine, and absolutely, definitely, knows what he's talking about.

err ased aunjuha hei !!!

kittens

i cracked my voynich once
i also ripped my manusc

hour and ten minutes til hometime almost there

Flatulent Fox

I want to crack the Voynich code now too!


Ingredients for making strawberry hubba bubba?
Or something more sinister?



Quote from: Baron von Klaus on May 16, 2019, 08:02:38 AM
Didn't someone 'crack' it about two years ago, claiming it was a women's sexual health manual? I thought that one was pretty plausible.

Yes, in fact it was this exact same guy back in 2017 (though there have been many others over the years with nonsense claims about having cracked it).

He hasn't solved it, his methodology is basically to propose a letter-to-symbol translation that results in a lot of short vowel-heavy words, which by random selection he then finds corollaries to across basically every language in Europe and then finds spots in the manuscript where the combination of words vaguely (speculatively) matches the pictures.

Anyone claiming to have cracked it using this methodology does not understand the most interesting features of the manuscript, which is that the combination and frequency of letters does not match our understanding of how languages do or can function.

Glebe

[tag]Unknown tennis player/chess master has nervous breakdown.[/tag]

idunnosomename

Quote from: Cuellar on May 16, 2019, 03:06:47 PM
If it was made in a religious community (as the guy suggests), they WERE the mass producers of books. Its surely odd that nothing, not a scrap, not a marginal note, not anything in the same script has been found.

Anyway. After being roundly rinsed by linguists and historians on twitter, it seems Bristol have deleted their big press release about this because it turns out, surprise surprise, to be gubbins.

Only early on. Manuscripts were made by professional scribes/artists from like at least the 13th century. By the 15th century it would be atypical for an illustrated book to be produced in a monastery

fuckin give this Voynich shit a rest already. And yes Bristol pulled the news story from their site with this explanation. He's just an associate and the faculty have complained that it's unethical and self-promoting

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2019/may/voynich-manuscript.html

Johnny Yesno

Quote from: Cuellar on May 16, 2019, 03:06:47 PM
it turns out, surprise surprise, to be gubbins.

I think you meant bobbins. At least we've learned something about language in this thread.