VMs: Criteria for a successful solution

[Rene Zandbergen <r_zandbergen@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hell Jan,

you wrote:

> it was probably postulated in this list before, but
> could you repeat here the basic criteria for
> successful solution?

They used to be listed on Gabriel's web site
(currently not available), and also these criteria
can be argued about quite a lot. I am convinced
that a susccessful solution will not need a lot
of proof or analysis - a correct solution should
be recognisable easily.
However, here are some of the main points I
remember. Yes, they can all be argued about.

Some need to be read slightly differently if
one proposes that the MS is in an unknown language,
and more so if one proposes that the MS contains
meaningless text :-)

1. there should be a clearly described procedure
   how the MS text was generated, which could have
   been performed by someone from the proposed
   time of origin, and is reproducible. 

1a. It should work for the whole Ms, not just a 
   small part.

1b. It should work for the labels, and translate 
   to meaningful label words.

2. the 'odd features' of the MS text, as first 
   pointed out by Currier, and extended in the
   mean time by later analysis, should be explained
   by the solution. In particular, it should be
   clear how or why the word patters from the
   core-mantle-crust or prefix-midfix-suffix
   paradigms arise.

3. The 'encryption method', when applied to 
   other normal texts of the proposed time period
   and language, should generate Voynich-like
   properties.

4. The solution should be chronologically sound.

I particularly like (3), which was proposed, if
I am not much mistaken, by Bruce Grant. It means
that in solving the mystery, one has to concentrate
on the 'encryption' method rather than the
'decryption' method.

Take Strong's plaintext. It is in very odd 
English, to say the least. It has been produced
by applying a 'decryption' algorithm to the VMs
text. Now take this plain text and apply the
'encryption' method to generate the Voynichese.
The typical word patterns arise 'magically'
without explanation. The frequent word 'qokeedy' 
is not the same word in the plaintext but consists 
of different parts of different words in the 
plain text.
To make this credible, it would be required that
other plain texts, when subjected to the same
encryption mechanism, also give rise to such 
features.

Cheers, Rene


		
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