Here’s a Voynich page that made me laugh, and I hope it will do broadly the same for you too. 🙂
Elias Schwerdtfeger has posted a new meta-theoretical analysis tool to his blog, called VBI – short for the “Voynich Bullshit Index“. By carefully testing your pet Voynich theory against his long checklist of questions (each with its own VBI point rating), you can work out how high your overall VBI rating is… that is, how close to the perfect bullshit Voynich theory you have reached.
For maximum satirical effect, Elias includes a number of questions designed specifically to penalize various well-known Voynich theories: and yes, my Averlino theory is one of them, but I’d probably have been vastly disappointed if he hadn’t. 🙂
Sadly for Anglophones, Elias’ VBI post is only in German – but if you nag him enough (leaving a comment should do the trick) to add an English translation, I guess he probably will. Alternatively, you can annoy him by clicking here to look at his page via Google Translate: he’s forever trawling through his server logs for Google Translate entries and then moaning at me about my inability to read German, which isn’t strictly true – I actually sometimes use it because of my inability to read his German. Which, having just seen what a dog’s dinner Google Translate makes of his post, I don’t feel quite so bad about any more. 😉
Enjoy! 🙂
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I wish I spoke German. What I’d like to do, in the absence of a theory of my own, is to construct one that maximises the number of VBI points.
The Google translation of that page is hilarious.
Sorry, but I think several Voynich theorists have already pretty much done that. All they really needed for their final hundred gold points is to add that they also just happen to be the reincarnation of Voynich author [insert appropriated historical figure here]. Which I’m sure is true, but had just slipped their mind. 🙂
Hi Nick! Thanks for calling this to our attention, it’s superb! We need an English version. Maybe Elmar Vogt could do it?
I read it with BabelFish, not too bad. Elmundo used to do a really good German translation, but I can’t get it any more.
It would also be fun to have a version with a real quiz form. You might be able to do that with PollDaddy.
Oh, Google is funny! I hope that Google isn’t funnier than this little translation… 😉
Danke schőn, Elias! Your translation is fine!
revisited near the 1 yr anniversary of my first seeing the VMs.
Whoo-hoo! My points are now out the window.
Diane: I’m just profoundly touched that Elias included points specifically to boost my score. How moving is that? 😀
Very moving.
I’ve just re-visited the quiz – Elias scores higher on the Bullshit Index than I do. How cute is that?
🙂