[Blog Post] Rightward and Downward in the Voynich Manuscript - Patrick Feaster

[pfeaster]

[quote="MarcoP" pid='47087' dateline='1630065649']

Assuming it's Python, this method disadvantages the first and last position....  Mine...gives an equal space (of size 10) to each position. 10x10 = 100, no unfair advantage to any position.

For those who aren't set up to run the experiment easily, the first method splits a hypothetical hundred-word line into groups of 6, 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, and 6 words.  But here's how the two methods play out with more Voynich-scale lines:

5 words = 1, 3, 5, 8, 10 versus 1, 3, 5, 7, 9
6 words = 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10 versus 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9
7 words = 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 versus 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9
8 words = 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 versus 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
9 words = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 versus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
10 words = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 versus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
11 words = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 versus 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
12 words = 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10 versus 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

So at this scale, the first method doesn't seem quite as egregiously unequal as it does for a hundred-word line.  But this all goes to underscore how subtle differences in methods of calculation can have big effects.