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New Bari Paper on Academia.edu
José L. Fernández-Sánchez has uploaded a paper prepared for the Bari conference: A Features Model of the Shroud of Turin: Considering it as a system. The paper is in English and may be found at Academia.edu.
Here is an abstract:
The Shroud of Turin is among the most studied, controversial and enigmatic of all archaeological objects. The Turin Shroud is an old linen fabric imprinted with the image of a man who lies prone with his hands crossed before him.
The big effort spent in studying the Turin Shroud has produced a huge amount of observations and features describing it. Unfortunately this knowledge is not well classified and structured, and it is frequently presented as ordered lists or tables of properties of the archaeological object.
This paper proposes a modeling approach borrowed from systems engineering and computer science, to be applied to the structuring of the Turin Shroud knowledge representation. The scope of the research modeling presented in the paper includes those features related to the image, but includes, although incompletely, other features as well.
The model shows the features allocated to the different parts of the object, giving a quick view of the Turin Shroud breadth of properties. Further organizing the features in this model makes it easier to identify inconsistent features, missing features and redundant features. The features model presented here may be a framework for adding the new features to be discovered in future observations and experiments of the Turin Shroud.
I very much like the way many features are not overstated. This takes discipline. For instance:
. . . Other experiments show that the shading of the TS image has a correlation with expected cloth-body distances as the shading produced by an unknown image formation mechanism actuating on a cloth draping over a body shape [6].
How much better is this than saying that the shading represents distance? For instance, I think it represents shape. It could be distance. But no one has ever shown me that it is, in fact, distance. The word “correlation” works for me.
I wonder, though, how can we get past the controversy and the presumptions about imaging or authenticity that some features imply? For instance:
No image under bloodstains. As the feature described previously this absence, that needs to be confirmed [21], suggests than the blood images where present on the cloth before the body image formation mechanism actuated on the TS cloth.
How do we call this a feature? System engineering principles are loath to accept ambiguity.
It is a great idea. It will take a lot of work.
A Report on the Bari Conference
Maria da Glóra Moreira of the Centro Português de Sindonologia writes:
We have attended Workshop on Advances in Turin Shroud Investigation and we were surprised by the few number of persons in the room of Bari’s University where the Conference was held.
Actually there were no more than 40 persons including speakers, which was later explained to us by the fact that the Conference was not opened to the general public, and we regret the absence of American and English scholars as speakers.
We were disappointed by Professor Bruno Barberi’s statement that he didn’t know when Vatican would grant permission for new tests on the Shroud ( in 2012 Valencia Shroud Congress he opened the possibility of new tests in a near future although he asserted that it would be Pope’s decision).
How can real advances in Shroud of Turin scientific investigation be achieved without new tests?
Nevertheless there were some interesting presentations in the scientific field of image namely a new project of Shroud scanning by Professor Nello Balossino, and description of laboratory experiments by Professors Giovanna de Liso, Lattarulo, Giulio Fanti and Paolo di Lazzaro.
There was also a weird presentation by Professor Valery Shalatonin from bielorussian Minsk University describing the detection of an electric field around a real size replica of the Shroud and it’s biological effects-this was indeed very interesting and a brand new issue.
Outside the scientific field a new historiographical and philosophical approach about Jesus resurrection and the Shroud was presented by french philosopher and historian Professor Tristan Casabianca.
In our humble opinion there were actually few advances in Shroud investigation and one thing is for sure- EVEN IN LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS NAMELY WITH LASER TECHNOLOGY, CORONA DISCHARGE ETC. THE IMAGES OBTAINED ARE FAR FROM THE ORIGINAL
To summarize, although a bit below our expectations it was not worthless going to Bari
The above is being shared with everyone with Maria da Glória’s kind permission.
The proceedings of the conference have been distributed to attendees as a single, 137 page PDF file. I am seeking permissions or links to make this available to everyone, if that is possible. There are some fascinating papers in it. Stay tuned.
The Trimurti of the Italian scientific-experimental studies on the Shroud
Expecting some news accounts out of Bari?
Here is a rough Google translation from the Amici della Sindone (Friends of the Shroud) Facebook page. They are starting to arrive in Bari:
Originally they were 3, then 4 … there will be several others (and others), but they were scattered here and there … so here’s to you, for now, the Trimurti [great trinity, threesome, triad] of the Italian scientific-experimental studies on the Shroud of Turin, [and] the more gregarious one from Spain
Breaking News on the Bari Conference
The Bari conference, officially the Workshop on Advances in the Turin Shroud Investigation, has posted the following information on the conference home page:
Only few papers accepted for presentation at the workshop exhibit a content within the IEEE field of interest. As a consequence, we regret to inform the Authors that the IEEE Italy Section do not award the sponsorship to the event.
David Roemer is taking credit. He sent me the following in an email:
Did you know the IEEE withdrew its sponsorship of the Shroud Conference in Bari? I’m taking credit for this because I explained to the leadership of the IEEE that conferences about the Holy Shroud are exercises in pseudoscience.
Now, David, you can get back to important things like having Cardinal Dolan investigated by the Inquisition because he thinks the shroud is real, disagrees with your views on the Big Bang or thinks you can be a quite unpleasant fellow when you paper is not accepted.
Final Program for Bari Conference
The Program for Workshop on Advance in the Turin Shroud Investigation is now online. Note that regular papers are limited to 20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for discussion. This seems a stark contrast to the way the St. Louis conference will be doing things: not allowing questions at the time of presentations but having a Q&A online facility that will be open to the public.
Looks like a good conference.
Scientific Conference on the Shroud of Turin
We’ve covered much of this in:
Bari Conference: A scientific event unprecedented in Puglia
Checking in on the Bari Workshop, September 4-5, 2014
and there is more by searching the blog for BARI
The following is a Google-based translation from Controcampus, an Italian publication in the field of education:
Polytechnic of Bari – Thirty scientific work to unravel the mystery of the Holy Shroud. IEEE international event . In Bari, on 4 and 5 September, scientists from around the world
Research on the Shroud of Turin
For the first time, a scientific organization of international first class as the IEEE – Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (present in 150 countries around the world, headquartered in New York), which includes in itself the best academics and Researchers around the world in the field of electrical engineering and electronics, has included themes of its conferences the study and research on a subject so well known and debated as the Shroud of Turin.
Workshopal Poliba research on the Shroud of Turin
On 4 and 5 September, in Bari, at the Conference Centre of the Students of the University "Aldo Moro" of Bari (former Post Office building), in two rooms set up properly, there will be a special workshop with the participation of specialists from around the world to present new studies and research. The event, titled "Advances in the Turin Shroud Investigation 2014" (developments in the investigation of the Shroud) and briefly indicated by the acronym ATSI 2014 should be talked much about it, according to the expectations of researchers and scholars from all over the world.
The merit of the initiative of prof. Dario Petri, President of the Italian Section of the IEEE, which was followed by the accession of prof. Francis Lattarulo, Shroud, as well as afferent at the Polytechnic of Bari, general coordinator together with prof. Bruno Barberis, University of Turin, Director of the International Centre Sindonology of Turin. Unpublished will also be involved in this workshop of the IEEE for contributions treated with equal severity of the preliminary assessment, resulting from the humanities.
Meanwhile, to date, are received from all over the world 30 scientific works of researchers from different countries such as Spain, France, Hungary, Belarus, Algeria, Israel, India, USA and, of course, Italy. Narrow interest of the IEEE (the relevant papers accepted will be recorded electronically archive the technical-scientific and published in the Proceedings of the IEEE Workshop) those on: mechanisms of image formation and processing of the same, chemical and physical degradation of tissues exposed to Special aggressive, telluric phenomena of interest, electrostatic and electromagnetic experiments. To these must be added those of forensic medicine, archeology, palynology, history, philosophy / theology, iconography (such works can not be properly recorded in the archive of the IEEE technical-scientific but they will be published in the proceedings of the workshop).
Details curious and interesting: even if the workshop is included among the topics (topics) to be treated is also relevant to dating (eg. Radiocarbon one), nothing has come to now work in this direction. Perhaps this is due to the need to revise the experimental procedure, which would require the extraction of new samples granting of ecclesiastical authorities.
To the question rhetorical "because in Bari?", With reference to the workshop, Professor. Francis Lattarulo so responds, "the pioneering initiative of organizing an IEEE workshop on the subject of scientific studies on the Shroud of Turin was Dario Petri as a representative of the IEEE Italy Section. He, after having duly consulted, invited me to take on the role of General Chair of the workshop and to place it accordingly in Bari for logistical reasons, as this is my city of birth and life. He referred to me because I was and am the only Italian who responded to the dual condition of being engaged in the Shroud and to be presented with the highest possible qualification (in my case, academic) in the field of scientific and technical interest of their own ‘ IEEE, namely in the field of electrical engineering and electronics. There are none others in Italy, that I know of. "
The international event that advances the science of the Shroud Exposition in 2015, from 19 April to 24 June, is organized in close collaboration between the two highest academic forums constituted by the Polytechnic of Bari and University of Bari "Aldo Moro". "We are very pleased that the Politecnico its one of the organizers of this conference – said the Rector, Eugenio Di Sciascio. It ‘important – more – that science and faith can speak to each other without prejudice. The organization of the event, under the auspices of the IEEE, the oldest and most prestigious companies of Electrical and Electronic Engineers of the world, hope is the rigor with which the themes of the conference will be dealt with. " "This finding of which the first information about 1353 – added the Rector of the University of Bari, Antonio Uricchio – has never ceased to be studied and worshiped. Its history is dotted with many questions and few answers. With the certainty that the best tool for growth and meeting between thoughts is the debate, the University of Bari and Politecnico di Bari, they wanted to offer this means of comparison and information. The man reveals himself to himself – he concludes – free from the need of thought and habit, open to critical reflection and self-criticism and the intrinsic intelligibility of the world in which he lives. "
As you recall the Shroud of Turin is the most important object of worship of Christianity. The picture that emerges from the linen shroud according to the ancient tradition of the Christian faith is Jesus of Nazareth.
So far, some elements seem to be clear: the scientific results have let say with certainty that the image was produced through a natural process that involved the body of a human being. Well documented, as belonging to the rare blood group AB, are the traces of blood on the cloth.
A fact remains unsolved: although the Church has never claimed its authenticity, rather than reserving the attribute of the object of worship of relics, nobody has ever been able to play or to explain an alleged infringement of the Shroud.
Bari Conference: A scientific event unprecedented in Puglia
Ilikepuglia reports: Shroud of Turin, Bari researchers and scholars from around the world: [is The an] international scientific event [is] unprecedented in Puglia. Well, you get the idea. That was a work-over of a Goggle translation. The following paragraphs are raw translation:
The event, titled "Advances in the Turin Shroud Investigation 2014" (developments in the investigation Shroud) and briefly indicated by the acronym ATSI 2014 should be talked much about it, according to the expectations of researchers and studies dare around the world.
For the first time, in fact, a scientific organization of international first class as the ‘Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE), present in 150 countries around the world, headquartered in New York, which includes in itself the best studios dare and researchers around the world in the field of electrical engineering and electronics, has inserted between the themes of his meetings the studies o research on a subject so well known and debated as the Shroud of Turin. The merit of the initiative should be recognized prof. Dario Petri, as President of the Italian Section of the IEEE, which was followed by the accession of prof. Francis Lattarulo, afferent sindonologist at the Politecnico di Bari, who took over the task of overall coordination and local levels.
This is unprecedented, no doubt about it and not just in Puglia.
Is the Shroud real? Probably.
The Shroud of Turin may be the real burial cloth of Jesus. The carbon dating, once seemingly proving it was a medieval fake, is now widely thought of as suspect and meaningless. Even the famous Atheist Richard Dawkins admits it is controversial. Christopher Ramsey, the director of the Oxford Radiocarbon Laboratory, thinks more testing is needed. So do many other scientists and archeologists. This is because there are significant scientific and non-religious reasons to doubt the validity of the tests. Chemical analysis, all nicely peer-reviewed in scientific journals and subsequently confirmed by numerous chemists, shows that samples tested are chemically unlike the whole cloth. It was probably a mixture of older threads and newer threads woven into the cloth as part of a medieval repair. Recent robust statistical studies add weight to this theory. Philip Ball, the former physical science editor for Nature when the carbon dating results were published, recently wrote: “It’s fair to say that, despite the seemingly definitive tests in 1988, the status of the Shroud of Turin is murkier than ever.” If we wish to be scientific we must admit we do not know how old the cloth is. But if the newer thread is about half of what was tested – and some evidence suggests that – it is possible that the cloth is from the time of Christ.
No one has a good idea how front and back images of a crucified man came to be on the cloth. Yes, it is possible to create images that look similar. But no one has created images that match the chemistry, peculiar superficiality and profoundly mysterious three-dimensional information content of the images on the Shroud. Again, this is all published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
We simply do not have enough reliable information to arrive at a scientifically rigorous conclusion. Years ago, as a skeptic of the Shroud, I came to realize that while I might believe it was a fake, I could not know so from the facts. Now, as someone who believes it is the real burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth, I similarly realize that a leap of faith over unanswered questions is essential.
My name is Dan Porter. Please email me at DanielRobertPorter@gmail.com
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