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comment by kleinbl00
kleinbl00  ·  2757 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Your very own Voynich Manuscript for a mere $9k

The fact that, as bfv notes, it hasn't been cracked despite several attempts at determining the cipher suggests that it likely isn't a cipher. Ockham's razor suggests that it's a very good hoax.





oyster  ·  2756 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I kind of believe it's just somebodies insane ramblings that don't amount to anything or really mean anything. Which would make the fact that people are still trying to figure it out even better in my eyes.

coffeesp00ns  ·  2756 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Of course you're right. It would be nice to think it to be one, though. My money is on legit crazy hermit/monk making his own language and writing out the things he sees in his crazy brain - Visions, distortions of reality, dreams, the like.

If that's the case, even writing with his own alphabet in a new language, that language is likely going to be heavily influenced by the languages he knows - As a 15th century Italian monk (i say monk because they're the person most likely to know how to read and write), that would be Italian and Latin, with unlikely but possibly a bit of Greek or Hebrew thrown in.

kleinbl00  ·  2756 days ago  ·  link  ·  

mmm, outsider art generally doesn't group like that. There's a consistency to the Voynich that looks like consistent language and the ramblings of the madman generally don't.

I think it was someone good at forgery and cryptography coming up with something to sell a rich rube. Who the forger and who the purchaser was I have no idea. There are several choices.