Daily Archives: September 21, 2004

The Document is a Fake

No, not one of those documents.

We’re talking about the mysterious Voynich Manuscript. Wired Magazine reports that it is not an ancient alchemical treatise, nor a thought experiment from Leonardo da Vinci, nor a relic from an alternate universe. (Well, I guess they can’t completely rule that last one out, but Occam’s Razor and all that.)

The document is gibberish. It’s a very old hoax. And, based on the years spent trying to decipher it, I’d say one of the most successful hoaxes of all time.

Read the Wired article to learn why the document may have been created in the first place, how you can create your own undecipherable document, and, interestingly enough, how the techniques used to prove that Voynich is a fake just might help lead to a cure for Alzheimer’s. Fake documents are powerful, aren’t they? Bringing down TV networks, curing diseases…what’s next?

(via GeekPress)

Weenie World

Referencing some commentary from the Belmont Club, Glenn delivers a quip containing an astounding sketch of a possible future:

Perhaps this is how we will, ultimately, convert the whole world into a bunch of diplo-speaking social-welfare pacifists, one quagmire at a time. . . .

Surely humanity’s future on this planet should lie along precisely this trajectory. Granted, that business about “one quagmire at a time” is not a pleasant prospect. But picture a world full of pacifists. It’s not that hard to do, seeing as even the major agressors (China, radical Islam) already talk the talk of “peace” and human rights and oneworldism. What if they also walked the walk, more or less?

In other words, what if the whole world were Europe? First off, the planet would be no more or less an annoying place than it is now. We would be no better liked than we are now. But it would be a wonderful world, because there really would be peace — and that’s Peace, not “peace.” We would be in no more danger from the rest of the world than we currently are from Europe.

Ah, some will argue, but Europe is threat, a very grave threat to freedom. Well, yes and no. Europe is a threat not because of any aggression they are likely to undertake on their own, but only because of their weenielike tendency to wink at the agression of others…even those who would systemtically destroy their civilization if they could. Take away the real aggressors — that is, make them weenies, too — and Europe is no more dangerous than Berkeley.

Sure, Berkeley can be kind of a pain in the ass. But it can be a lot fun, too. It’s a college town. There are some great clubs and restaurants. And bookstores. On the whole, Berkeley is a pretty good model for the rest of the world. And a much more realistic one than, say, Dallas. We, of course, along with (possibly) the UK, Australia, and some of Eastern Europe, will have to continue to be Dallas. Any time somebody tries to make the transition from aggression-appeasing-weenie to aggression-pursuing-psycho, there needs to be a counter-force to slap them down. Meanwhile, we will continue to grow and nurture our own weenie contingent, who will make it a bit easier for us to get along with the rest of the world.

Weenie World should be the stated long-term goal of US foreign policy. Failing that, I think it is at least worthy to be a scenario studied by the Global Business Network. I can only think of one book (and later movie) that developed the Weenie World scenario. Are there others?