Now, using advanced artificial intelligence tools and stylistic analysis of ancient Greek, researchers have achieved what was once considered nearly impossible: identifying where Josephus quoted known sources, where he drew on the writings of Nicolaus of Damascus, Herod’s court historian, and where he relied on other works that have been entirely lost. ...This sounds interesting, but I have questions. The sample size is small. Do these quotations have overlaps with other sources that quote Nicolaus, such as the Constantinian Excerpts? Have those overlaps been cross-checked? Has the method been tested against other passages in which Josephus quotes sources which survive, so that we can verify how well the algorithm can assess the quotations?Schler said the ability to demonstrate stylistic changes computationally was itself a significant achievement.
Perhaps the researchers have done such cross-tests. No underlying article is cited, so it's hard to tell. Let's see how this develops.
An aside regarding this paragraph:
Born into a priestly family in Jerusalem, Josephus commanded Jewish forces in the Galilee during the Great Revolt against Roman rule. After his forces were defeated, he hid in a cave with a group of commanders. The others chose to kill themselves rather than surrender, but Josephus, the final survivor, emerged and gave himself up.Actually there were two survivors. Josephus persuaded the other to surrender with him. Whether Josephus ended up among the last two due to luck or to impressive math skills is an interesting question. See here and links on the "Josephus Problem."
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