Re: VMs: New to this list, just some questions...

[Elmar Vogt <elvogt@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Patrick Muller wrote:
> Hello!
>
> Could someone please tell me, without going into too much detail, what the
> general consensus on the origin, purpose and meaning of the VM anno 2005 is?

Hiyas,

The majority of people thinks it is a 15th century manuscript of Italian, 
French oder German origin. (That's what the VM looks like at first glance.) 
A second fraction prefers a creation date around 1600, either in England or 
Czech. (Those who assume it's a hoax to foil emperor Rudolf.)

Several other people also champion more or less exotic origins (Middle and 
Far East, for example), mostly based on the characteristics of the script.

> ...
> I find claims that it is a hoax and also that the code has already been
> cracked
> See: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.09/rugg.html for example. What's
> up with that?

Rugg claimed to be able to reproduce sections of the manuscript by means of 
a version of cardan grilles. He assumes it is a hoax with no deeper meaning 
behind the text.

The web community is very reserved about his finding, especially because he 
hasn't been able to reproduce some of the more subtle statistical properties 
of the VM, and has also only been very sketchy about his precise method.

The Wikipedia offers a very good starting point for further research into 
the VM:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich

The article is quite comprehensive and concise at the same time, IMHO.

Cheers, and have fun with the VM,

	Elmar

--
Elmar Vogt / Königswarterstr. 18 / 90762 Fürth / GERMANY
elvogt@xxxxxxxxxxx / www.beamends.de / Tel.: (++49/0)911 - 31 52 58

Wat: "We're the sons of peasants. Glory, and riches, and stars are
beyond our grasps. But a full stomach, that dream can come true."
                                             (A Knight's Tale)

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