Re: AW: VMs: Re: word length counts

[Gordon Rugg <g.rugg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Nick,

Cutting across these approaches, there's also the theme of reducing the problem
space by eliminating impossible or highly unlikely explanations. So, for instance,
I think we can eliminate the "Mongolian nephew" explanation (that the VMS is a
plaintext of an unidentified language written in a novel alphabet) because of the
number of unique linguistic features in Voynichese; I think we can also eliminate a
simple character-by-character substitution cipher on the grounds of the entropy
values, etc.

One of the most intriguing and challenging aspects of VMS research is that so many
of the features of the manuscript can be interpreted in diametrically opposite
ways. So, for instance, the lack of precedents for a 15th century coded manuscript
of this length and apparent complexity can either be taken to mean that the
manuscript is not what it appears (perhaps it's a coded manuscript from a later
period, or a hoax), or to mean that the manuscript really is what it appears, and
is therefore particularly important.

Best wishes,

Gordon


Nick Pelling wrote:

> Hi Claus,
>
> >you forgot another (4th) way to look: the dedicated reader (if there was one):
>
> Yes, that's a valid point, thanks: so, taking a broader view, I'd perhaps
> categorise this as:-
>
> (4) at its functionality, ie its "user interface" - this asks the question
> "how was the text intended to be used? what can we infer from that?" For
> example, a (hoaxed) alchemical herbal would use it as-is, to gain its user
> some of the air of mystery and authority from a mysterious herbal document.
>
> >The auditorium of the encrypted text must be considered.Such a reader has
> >to able to read such a long text without too much effort.That means IMO
> >sophisticted widgets, multiple alfabets and such are not usable in the
> >long run.Even the Enigma with highest level of encryption was cracked.And
> >I think that Enigma's secrets where more important (to their origin) than
> >any medieval MS.
>
> Unfortunately, we have so little idea of what was expected or required of a
> user in this case (nor of the actual level of importance of the VMS) that
> I'm not sure we can give any significant weight to the kind of deductions
> you suggest.
>
> For example, as for the length of the text, I know of no (even remotely)
> contemporary examples of cryptography on the same scale or intensity -
> Giovanni da Fontana's crypto system (which is often quoted) was not only
> simple, it was also only used occasionally within his text - so we haven't
> really got an  idea of what it would mean to "read" such a long (probably
> encrypted) text.
>
> FWIW, my own "user interface" deductions are:-
> (a) the extreme length of the text
>          ==> it was for (passive) storage, not for (active) reading
> (b) the clarity of the writing and layout
>          ==> to ensure that its complex coding system could be decoded if
> required
>
> Of course, given the paucity of use-related information we have, I don't
> weight these deductions particularly highly. So, YMMV. :-)
>
> BTW: for Enigma, code-breakers had a very clear idea of what the
> send/receive context was (between Nazi radio-stations, in a war): but I
> doubt every message sent this way actually needed encryption. Similarly,
> there may be parts of the VMS that required hiding much more than others...
> hopefully we shall find out soon enough. :-)
>
> Cheers, .....Nick Pelling.....
>
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