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Computers have demonstrated that Genesis was probably written by one person https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/08/world/computer-points-to-single-author-for-genesis.html

I've been looking around and can't find that anyone has run a similar analysis of Daniel. Has anyone done this? It would be interesting to see whether a computer analysis backs up the claims that Daniel had three or four authors.

Nigel J
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Martin
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  • maybe the same professor will do it for Daniel. Though it sounds like an "easy" program to run. The multiple-author idea for Genesis was always absurd on its face – Walter S Apr 27 '20 at 00:49
  • You make it seem as if a computer is unbiased. The program art builds in his assumptions in a biased way that unlikely to be transparent. –  Apr 27 '20 at 01:05
  • The team said usage and frequency provided ''a reliable gauge of authorship'' because they were stylistic nuances ''beyond the author's conscious control.'' – Walter S Apr 27 '20 at 02:13
  • @WalterSmetana That might work from week to week or year to year, but I know that my writing style and vocabulary are very different now than 20 years ago. Also if I were compiling information from different written sources I might adopt some of the vocabulary of my sources. Those differences would be apparent even if I was the writer. –  Apr 27 '20 at 02:27
  • Programming Big Blue to beat a Chess Master is one thing, but the human mind is vastly more capable of linguistic analysis (and that without much effort) than is a designed program. Our minds were created for language. There are depths within us that perceive and understand, layer upon layer, what language is and what language does. – Nigel J Apr 27 '20 at 05:52
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    Style and authorship are distinct notions. It would be best not to confuse them. – Lucian Apr 27 '20 at 14:09
  • Related: https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/468/can-we-use-linguistic-fingerprints-to-identify-different-authors-of-the-bible – James Shewey Apr 27 '20 at 18:49

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