The Voynich manuscript mystery.

[Achtung Baby]

For those who are unsure what this is about, here is a primer from Wiki: The Voynich manuscript.

I'd like to read what my fellow ACG members have to say in regards to this book, could it be genuine, or an elaborate hoax?

Here is a close-up of the text that no-one has been able to decipher.

[joea]

[Mountain Man]

Since no one can read it, what do the "experts" say? Is the paper and ink valid? Binding? Cover? Was it dated?

Unfortunately, Wiki isn't considered a reliable source.

[surfinbird]

LOL that comic... But it's true. Maybe we just found the legacy of an earlier, unknown, J.R.R Tolkien.

[Pirate-Drakk]

You can see the book in detail here:
http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/dl_...?srchtype=ITEM

I have studied the images for a number of years and can't make much sense of them. However, it does appear to be very science oriented in both biology and astronomy.

In any case, whom ever made this book spent a LOT of time on it.

The alien looking plants imply an alien origin...

[Mountain Man]

Originally Posted by Pirate-Drakk

You can see the book in detail here:
http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/dl_...?srchtype=ITEM

I have studied the images for a number of years and can't make much sense of them. However, it does appear to be very science oriented in both biology and astronomy.

In any case, whom ever made this book spent a LOT of time on it.

The alien looking plants imply an alien origin...

Do they? Do you know all of the ancient plants by sight? Some of the plants currently growing deep in the Amazon rain forest and other highly isolated sites look like they're "alien" as it is.

Still waiting to here what the data said - carbon dating, handwriting analysis, determination of linguistic base group, etc., etc., etc.

As for not being able to read it, there is a style of Egyptian hieroglyphics that cannot be properly translated, either. Same for the Mayan Codex, which has been in the hands of scholars for something over three or four centuries or so. For that matter, the Bible has been around for close to two thousand years, and the translation of the original Aramaic is still in doubt.

Given the width, depth and span of human history, and the sheer number of dead languages, the discovery of a lost language that we don't know comes as no surprise. The only surprise would be if there weren't any such languages.

[G David Bock]

One of ten other mystery codes;
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/vid...codes/uf5jxcel

[Pirate-Drakk]

Originally Posted by Mountain Man

Still waiting to here what the data said - carbon dating, handwriting analysis, determination of linguistic base group, etc., etc., etc.

There are no other examples of this script in existence, that have been found which makes the document unique.

The document is dated to the 15th century so it is not very ancient.
http://news.discovery.com/history/vo...ge-110211.html

It has been verified to be "writing" by character analysis.

[GCoyote]

http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forum...hlight=Voynich

http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forum...hlight=Voynich

http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forum...hlight=Voynich

Didn't the medieval alchemists also concoct their own ciphers to keep their findings secret?

[Persephone]

Originally Posted by Mountain Man

Since no one can read it, what do the "experts" say? Is the paper and ink valid? Binding? Cover? Was it dated?

Unfortunately, Wiki isn't considered a reliable source.

Here's a National Geographic video...

[Mountain Man]

Originally Posted by Persephone

Here's a National Geographic video...

Ah, yes...Nat Geo...the "experts" who now do "serious programming" on the activities of inmates in Federal prisons and Women Behind Bars.

Sorry, Persephone...it's not personal towards you. Just my rant at the decline of decent sources. I grew up with Nat Geo when they were the expert word on many arcane cultures and subjects.

[Pirate-Drakk]

Originally Posted by Persephone

Here's a National Geographic video...

Worth watching.