Ben writes:
"I can argue precisely the same thing about the consistently closed G-loop in Toppy. Nothing to do with width, nothing to do with height, and yet it's an "element of style" and therefore unlikely to be susceptible to change according to you."
You canīt, actually. It ends up somewhere inbetween the height of stems and the bridging inbetween the "H" and the "u". Reason? Because it is a letter that is only connected to another letter on the one side. Therefore, it would be more probable to change than the bridging of the H and the u, and less probable than the height of the stem. The line that makes up the loop starts fresh from nowhere, and since no previous letter "guides" itīs start, it may reasonably end up in various places.
"Well, given the consistency that he reveals over a decade-plus period, we can be reasonably confident that he'd reveal equal consistency elsewhere."
And how "reasonable" would that be, Ben? Is it a 99 per cent chance? Or a 60? The one thing that matters, Ben, is that we KNOW that changes occured in Toppys writing, and that means that we can never "free" him the way you wish to.
"I'm talking about the letter "h", Fisherman. I have no idea how the witness would form his "l"s, since there are no "l"s in the name "George Hutchinson"."
No. But there is in "Bethnal". And since Toppy wrote a single stemmed l in one case when he wrote Bethnal, and a double stemmed one in the other case, I donīt consider it a huge leap to realize that he could do so in other cases too.
"I'm not asserting that it wouldn't happen. I'm saying it's unlikely to manifest itself as you suggest, by trying to impress them with a poncier-than-usual H's and longer cross bars"
It is by no means so, Ben. It is anybodys guess, as you will appreciate. And heaps of people with a respectful attitude towards authorities will be straightforward.
"I am not, incidentally, suggesting that he wouldn't have written more "neatly" on account of the unusual situation. I'm just saying that we can't use that as an excuse for the differences between Toppy and the witness."
We canīt prove such a thing, but IF he wrote neatly it may well explain for example the looped stem of the h, since it is easier to form such things when you take your time and try to be neat. Not that it is an explanation called for, since we have the l:s in Bethnal telling us that Toppy looped his stems every once in a while.
"the overall impression from having garnered his signatures from 1898 and 1911 (several of them) is one of remarkably consistency."
Iīm not arguing that the consistenct is not there. I am saying that by and large it crumbles into significantly less evidance value with every exception to the consistency rule we find. And we find lots! Moreover, to my mind, it is idiotic, more or less, to demand a millimetre to a stem here and an extra angle to a tail there since they are all elements that we KNOW are susceptible to change.
"They haven't been shown to leak considerably at all. 7 out of 9 taller t's than h's is still very consistenct, and by no means indicative of a "considerable" propensity towards leakage."
Sorry, Ben (well...), but it does not work that way. Seven out of nine leaves us with a 22 per cent plus chance that the next set of t:s and h:s would end up the way you dislike. The elements you have pushed have been shot down to a significant extent, and it seems the more Toppy texts we bring into the discussion, the more obvious it becomes that the armour you are trying to use is more full of holes than a Swiss cheese.
"Don't listen to Fisherman, David"
David is a grown-up guy, Ben. I think that we should allow him the right to decide for himself he wants to listen to.
""Seriously, why would you want to "keep claiming" something?
What's that going to acheive?"
You should know, Ben, since you keep claiming the opposite to what I claim! And I choose the language I want to use myself, Ben. Itīs not as if you walk softly when trying to refute the things I believe are perfectly obvious, is it?
I am perfectly satisfied that the Dorset Street witness is found, and that he was Toppy. But when I say so - and I have good faith that I am perfectly entitled to do so on these boards - I am met by a senseless barrage of what I consider to be totally delusional thinking. What do you expect me to do - try a softer tone?
The best,
Fisherman
"I can argue precisely the same thing about the consistently closed G-loop in Toppy. Nothing to do with width, nothing to do with height, and yet it's an "element of style" and therefore unlikely to be susceptible to change according to you."
You canīt, actually. It ends up somewhere inbetween the height of stems and the bridging inbetween the "H" and the "u". Reason? Because it is a letter that is only connected to another letter on the one side. Therefore, it would be more probable to change than the bridging of the H and the u, and less probable than the height of the stem. The line that makes up the loop starts fresh from nowhere, and since no previous letter "guides" itīs start, it may reasonably end up in various places.
"Well, given the consistency that he reveals over a decade-plus period, we can be reasonably confident that he'd reveal equal consistency elsewhere."
And how "reasonable" would that be, Ben? Is it a 99 per cent chance? Or a 60? The one thing that matters, Ben, is that we KNOW that changes occured in Toppys writing, and that means that we can never "free" him the way you wish to.
"I'm talking about the letter "h", Fisherman. I have no idea how the witness would form his "l"s, since there are no "l"s in the name "George Hutchinson"."
No. But there is in "Bethnal". And since Toppy wrote a single stemmed l in one case when he wrote Bethnal, and a double stemmed one in the other case, I donīt consider it a huge leap to realize that he could do so in other cases too.
"I'm not asserting that it wouldn't happen. I'm saying it's unlikely to manifest itself as you suggest, by trying to impress them with a poncier-than-usual H's and longer cross bars"
It is by no means so, Ben. It is anybodys guess, as you will appreciate. And heaps of people with a respectful attitude towards authorities will be straightforward.
"I am not, incidentally, suggesting that he wouldn't have written more "neatly" on account of the unusual situation. I'm just saying that we can't use that as an excuse for the differences between Toppy and the witness."
We canīt prove such a thing, but IF he wrote neatly it may well explain for example the looped stem of the h, since it is easier to form such things when you take your time and try to be neat. Not that it is an explanation called for, since we have the l:s in Bethnal telling us that Toppy looped his stems every once in a while.
"the overall impression from having garnered his signatures from 1898 and 1911 (several of them) is one of remarkably consistency."
Iīm not arguing that the consistenct is not there. I am saying that by and large it crumbles into significantly less evidance value with every exception to the consistency rule we find. And we find lots! Moreover, to my mind, it is idiotic, more or less, to demand a millimetre to a stem here and an extra angle to a tail there since they are all elements that we KNOW are susceptible to change.
"They haven't been shown to leak considerably at all. 7 out of 9 taller t's than h's is still very consistenct, and by no means indicative of a "considerable" propensity towards leakage."
Sorry, Ben (well...), but it does not work that way. Seven out of nine leaves us with a 22 per cent plus chance that the next set of t:s and h:s would end up the way you dislike. The elements you have pushed have been shot down to a significant extent, and it seems the more Toppy texts we bring into the discussion, the more obvious it becomes that the armour you are trying to use is more full of holes than a Swiss cheese.
"Don't listen to Fisherman, David"
David is a grown-up guy, Ben. I think that we should allow him the right to decide for himself he wants to listen to.
""Seriously, why would you want to "keep claiming" something?
What's that going to acheive?"
You should know, Ben, since you keep claiming the opposite to what I claim! And I choose the language I want to use myself, Ben. Itīs not as if you walk softly when trying to refute the things I believe are perfectly obvious, is it?
I am perfectly satisfied that the Dorset Street witness is found, and that he was Toppy. But when I say so - and I have good faith that I am perfectly entitled to do so on these boards - I am met by a senseless barrage of what I consider to be totally delusional thinking. What do you expect me to do - try a softer tone?
The best,
Fisherman
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