VMs: Hoaxes etc. ...

["PK#01" <pklist01@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sometimes the arguments go like: "who would spend an inordinate amount of
time on a hoax". There is an avenue of research there - well known medieval
hoaxes. I haven't researched the issue yet so it's just wild speculation.
But I know that there are well documented cases of fake relics, fake saints
etc. This might give a tangible handle on the subject.

To go even wilder: some authors speculate that the shroud of Turin might be
a hoax perpetrated by Leonardo da Vinci.

By coincidence today I found a reference to a famous literary hoax:

In the 1760s a negligible Scottish poet named James Macpherson dazzled
European culture with the publication of fragments of an ancient epic poem,
which he claimed to have translated from the Scottish Gaelic. Written by
"Ossian, the Son of Fingal," the fragments recounted the heroic undertakings
of the third-century bard and warrior Ossian (pronounced Oh-SHEEN). The
Romantic movement, enamored of primitivism and passionate expression,
embraced Macpherson's Ossian as one of their sacred texts. Romantic poets
imitated the Ossianic rhythmic style, and Goethe, high priest of the Sturm
and Drang, had his protagonist in The Sorrows of Young Werther declare,
"Ossian has displaced Homer in my heart." Napoleon reputedly carried a copy
of Ossian with him on his campaigns. ...
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/hoax6.html

This again leads to more wild speculation:

Suppose that there was an academic study group for Voynichology. I think
about a group like the "network theory and chip design group" that I was
part of in University. In fact an ongoing research project, led by an
experienced professor. What avenues would an academic person explore (and
spend his resources on)? Each sub-project would have a finite and achievable
an pulisheable goal. What would be the list of sub-projects?

- European shorthands of the late Middle Ages
- Use of labels in early Renaissance herbals
- Famous medieval hoaxes and their economic significance

Sorry for wasting you time. I should again start doing something useful like
scanning the Royal Library for VMS lookalikes ... :-)


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