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TomAiello

The Da Vinci Code

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finally reading the book. I think it's okay so far. Most of the theories are quite the Conspiracy theorist candy.
-That PHI thing is the simple case as looking at a tree in a forest and calling it significant. That 1.6. . number isn't the only number that can describe nature. 1.0 can also. And 1.2. . .ect.
-That deitsm of Christ theory I believe is real because I researched it about ten years ago.
-Real secret societies/groups don't name themselves. Why? They definitely don't make emblems.:S
-If there's a lineage of symbols to tie two things together, there's no connection.
All it takes is two symbols to tie two absolutely irrelevant subjects together.
I hope that some of these theories are intentional fabrications for the readers. If not, this guy has a paranoid outlook that can discredit some of the good theories by association.
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"The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln

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The part of the book that really got my attention was how much of a role Constantine (a non Christian) played in the history of Christianity in the interests of uniting his empire. Be interesting to read up a bit more on that.

The book mentions that 5 million women were killed by the church over a period of 300 years, some simply because they were midwives. Does anyone know if this is true?

Regarding the book itself, it did drag on a bit and had a twist (or five) too many. When you consider how much was supposed to happen in the space of only one night it is beyond implausible. Obviously the author was counting on controversy to help sell the book (looks like it worked). The romantic angle between the two main characters was also way too obvious and contrived.

I found the religious references more interesting than the story itself. Judging by the reactions published by the religious types looks like there might be some truth to it. But at least the book has got people talking and thinking. Hopefully nobody is insecure enough to think their religion is being undermined by it.

Will

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n. An organization, such as a lodge, that requires its members to conceal certain activities, such as its rites of initiation, from outsiders



Ill accept that. To me, this definition describes more closely to a fraternity or brotherhood type organization. My thoughts put secret society more towards underground movements and such. I can't argue with a dictionary though.
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Opus Dei is a real, catholic based cult. Google it.


Again an oops. :$
_____________________________

"The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln

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You should try his next book; "Deception Point"...

That SUCKED.



Oh man! I am reading it at the moment, halfway and nothing much is happening. Are you saying it sucks all the way to the end?
Blue Skies
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"That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

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i have just read this (did it in one day seeing as i have alot of time on my hands) - I found it interesting and it kept my interest to the end.............

I was brought up a catholic and went to a catholic school - by the time i was 10 I questioned what the fuck this religion was all about - after being told my confirmation was the time I could choose whether the religion was the path I wanted to choose, I said I did not want to and my teacher turned around and said "you have no choice" - that to me did it...........

This book if anything has highlighted various other subjects I want to know about and I have ordered some other books covering these subjects...........

M

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>-That PHI thing is the simple case as looking at a tree in a forest
> and calling it significant. That 1.6. . number isn't the only number
> that can describe nature. 1.0 can also. And 1.2. . .ect.

Well, but the golden ratio appears with amazing regularity in nature. This isn't due to some grand conspiracy, but due to the fact that it is related to some very basic patterns of growth. It's also used a lot in architechture, and we find buildings constructed with such ratios pleasing. That may be because we are "trained" by seeing the ratio in many other places in nature.

True, there are other numbers. Planck's Constant, for one. And although that number has a lot of influence over the basic forces of electromagnetism, it doesn't appear in nature a lot.

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>-That PHI thing is the simple case as looking at a tree in a forest
> and calling it significant. That 1.6. . number isn't the only number
> that can describe nature. 1.0 can also. And 1.2. . .ect.

Well, but the golden ratio appears with amazing regularity in nature. This isn't due to some grand conspiracy, but due to the fact that it is related to some very basic patterns of growth. It's also used a lot in architechture, and we find buildings constructed with such ratios pleasing. That may be because we are "trained" by seeing the ratio in many other places in nature.

True, there are other numbers. Planck's Constant, for one. And although that number has a lot of influence over the basic forces of electromagnetism, it doesn't appear in nature a lot.



NOT!

We just don't notice it the way we notice numbers between 0 and 10.
...

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Alright so I'm about a year late for this thread, but I just finished The DaVinci Code and thought it was really interesting.
I liked the complexities of the code breaking. There was enough drama to keep it on a fictional level of entertainment but enough "fact" to give you something to relate to, pertaining to biblical knowledge.

I'm a Christian and was not offended at all. Christians know that the Bible is a collection of translations and is to be studied, but not taken literally. We also know that theres a lot more to the life of Christ than what is detailed in The Bible.

I didn't take this book to be factual, but thought it to be a good read.

Now I want to go have a look at The Last Supper in detail..

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I haven't read the Da Vinci Code yet but am planning to. I really liked his book before the Da Vinci Code called 'Angels & Demons'. I was kind of disappointed when I researched some of what he called fact about the Illuminati. He's got a very low threshold of proof for calling something "factual". I was really wanting it to be true because it sounded so cool.


"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin

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Both are a good read, the rest of Dan Browns stuff is'nt up to those levels but still are good time killers.

I'll just warn you that the over all theme is the same so if you disliked his stance on the Church in one you'll dislike it in the other too.
Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

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I haven't read the Da Vinci Code yet but am planning to. I really liked his book before the Da Vinci Code called 'Angels & Demons'. I was kind of disappointed when I researched some of what he called fact about the Illuminati. He's got a very low threshold of proof for calling something "factual". I was really wanting it to be true because it sounded so cool.



Hard to know what is factual when the church has supressed so much information over the centuries. We do know that the documents chosen to be in the Bible were chosen to support church dogma, and not the other way around.
...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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He's got a very low threshold of proof for calling something "factual". I was really wanting it to be true because it sounded so cool.



Yep, one of his books "digital fortress" talks about Spain and computers. I am spanishs and I work on IT, i assure you he has not put the minimal effort in research his facts in this book. Kind of dissapointing because after reading angels and demons and the davinci code i felt like most of the things he was talking about had some true in it. I am doubting now.

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He's using artistic freedom in the Da Vinci Code. Very little of it is actually trrue ..... but it makes a good story.



It's certainly true that "John" in the last supper looks more like a woman than a man. Anyone can see that.

The description of the church in Scotland and its carvings was also very accurate.

Other than that, why should it be any more true than, say, Hamlet or Othello?
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Other than that, why should it be any more true than, say, Hamlet or Othello?
...

Well, because he has a statement at the beginning that all descriptions of artwork, rituals, history etc are completely true.

But a lot of his descriptions and theories don't hold a lot of water if you go & check them out yourself.

I thought it was a cool book though.:)
Speed Racer
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Other than that, why should it be any more true than, say, Hamlet or Othello?
...

Well, because he has a statement at the beginning that all descriptions of artwork, rituals, history etc are completely true.

But a lot of his descriptions and theories don't hold a lot of water if you go & check them out yourself.

I thought it was a cool book though.:)


There's a big difference between his theories and his descriptions. I think his descriptions are, for the most part, quite accurate. Can you give an example of a description of a piece of artwork in the book that is not accurate?

As far as history is concerned, it is certain that the Bible as we know it did not come into being until the 4th century AD (historians still dispute exactly which "council" fixed it), and that the selected books were chosen in accordance with church dogma. Beyond that, much history has been distorted or lost anyway, so it's hard to know exactly what went on.

Why would an organization that had no qualms about torturing and murdering tens of thousands of people have any qualms about distorting history?
...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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Can you give an example of a description of a piece of artwork in the book that is not accurate?

His description of madonna of the rocks in the Louvre, for example.
"Mary was holding one hand high above the head of infant John and making a decidedly threatening gesture-her fingers looking like eagle's talons, gripping an invisible head. Finally, the most obvious and frightening image: Just below Mary's curled fingers, Uriel was making a cutting gesture with his hand, as if slicing the neck of the invisible head gripped by Mary's claw-like hand."

(this is supposed to be an allusion to the beheading of John the Baptist, of course)
Gimme a break. There's nothing menacing about the way Mary is holding her hand. And the angel is pointing with her index finger, not making a cutting gesture.

There are plenty of other examples where Brown really slants things & over-reaches in order to make the story sound better.

His stuff about Opus Dei is REALLY far-fetched. They are not the f&*ked up, mysterious cult he makes them out to be.
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Slightly off-topic, but I also read Angels and Demons. I happen to work at CERN quite often, and I can quite clearly state, that he has not been there. The money at CERN is spent building accelerators and detectors. It is not used on beautiful buildings :)
I am also extremely disappointed that I have not yet been able to find the wind tunnel that he claims is used for recreational purposes. I would cook up excuses to go to CERN a lot more often had it been there ;)
HF #682, Team Dirty Sanchez #227
“I simply hate, detest, loathe, despise, and abhor redundancy.”
- Not quite Oscar Wilde...

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Can you give an example of a description of a piece of artwork in the book that is not accurate?

His description of madonna of the rocks in the Louvre, for example.
"Mary was holding one hand high above the head of infant John and making a decidedly threatening gesture-her fingers looking like eagle's talons, gripping an invisible head. Finally, the most obvious and frightening image: Just below Mary's curled fingers, Uriel was making a cutting gesture with his hand, as if slicing the neck of the invisible head gripped by Mary's claw-like hand."

(this is supposed to be an allusion to the beheading of John the Baptist, of course)
Gimme a break. There's nothing menacing about the way Mary is holding her hand. And the angel is pointing with her index finger, not making a cutting gesture.

There are plenty of other examples where Brown really slants things & over-reaches in order to make the story sound better.

His stuff about Opus Dei is REALLY far-fetched. They are not the f&*ked up, mysterious cult he makes them out to be.



Well, that's a matter of interpretation. The right hand does look strange holding nothing, and the finger does look very like the Masonic symbol for throat cutting (the "entered apprentice sign"). I don't see than as a far-fetched description at all.

Are you a member of Opus Dei?
...

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