Re: VMs: some thoughts/observations

[Jim Gillogly <jim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Nick Pelling wrote:
> PS: FWIW, what's the biggest fake you know of? (Please nobody say 
> "WMD"). :-p

Dang!  I was just going to say that!

I think it's a useful question, though.  Piltdown Man's effect was pretty
pervasive in science for a good while, but didn't require the amount of
effort required to produce the Voynich Manuscript.  The Beale Ciphers have
probably triggered more code-breaking effort than the Voynich Manuscript,
but certainly also required less effort to create.

With some trepidation at giving offense by attempting to eviscerate one or
both sacred cows, let me suggest:

- The Book of Mormon and associated backup materials including the Pearl
  of Great Price and the Doctrine and Covenants.

- The "inner sanctum" writings of Scientology, including the Xenu (Xemu?)
  revelations.

Each represents a greater expenditure of effort than the Voynich, and (to
be charitable) because of the contradictory theology at least one of the
authors (Joseph Smith and L. Ron Hubbard) knew he was perpetrating a fraud.
--
	Jim Gillogly

______________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxx with a body saying:
unsubscribe vms-list