Decoding the Science in The Lost Symbol

By Lynne McTaggart

The most vehement criticism of Dan Brown's new book The Lost Symbol concerns the view of many reviewers that while the material about Freemasonry may be based on fact, the science is more akin to science fiction. Katherine Solomon, one of the main characters, is a scientist particularly interested in 'mind over matter' - the power of thought.

Brown makes it clear at the outside in a page entitled 'FACT', that "All rituals, science, artwork and monuments in this novel are real." Nevertheless, a few of the more traditional scientists or science writers are already taking a swing at Brown for his impossible inventions and so-called junk science.

Although I cannot speak for many of the other elements in the book - Freemasonry, ancient symbols, alchemy or hidden keys - virtually all of his comments about physics, consciousness research, mind-over-matter experiments and intention are based on fact. Here's a quick guide.

* Katherine's lab uses random event generators. These machines, first developed by former Boeing physicist Helmut Schmidt, work like the space-age electronic equivalent of the toss of a coin. Most famously, REGs formed the basis of 25 years of consciousness research by Robert Jahn and psychologist Brenda Dunne at Princeton's PEAR lab. They developed sophisticated studies examining whether human minds could affect highly sensitive equipment governed by a random process.

*Her lab also uses CCD cameras that have photographed a faith healer's energy pouring from his hands.Dr. Gary Schwartz of the University of Arizona has a CCD camera-the kind of sensitive camera equipment that can photograph faint light from outer space. He uses it to photograph biophoton emissions-a tiny current of light that has been discovered to emanate from all living things. He has photographed an increase in this light flowing from the dominant hands of healers while 'sending' healing.

* Katherine has a lab called the 'Cube', which is electromagnetically sealed so that human thought can't penetrate it. Within the Institute of Noetic Sciences in California, there is a lab with a one-ton solid steel, double-walled, electromagnetically shielded enclosure, which blocks out all electromagnetic energy. It's like the warmer equivalent of a meatpacking-plant refrigerator.

Katherine says her work was particularly inspired by:

* REG machines dotted all over the world, which recorded an effect on September 11, 2001, when the twin towers collapsed. Former Princeton PEAR researcher, psychologist Roger Nelson, runs the Global Consciousness Project, which has more than 50 REG machines running continuously all over the world. He compares changes in their random output during times of major catastrophic global events. He and his colleagues have studied hundreds of events and found that when people react with great joy or horror to breaking news, the machines seem to react as well. One of the biggest effects was seen during the events of 9/11.

* prayer groups that have healed people and also have affected REG machines. At least 150 studies of prayer and healing have shown positive results. Dr. Nelson's Global Consciousness Project has tracked measurable changes in REG machines after many global prayer events.

* the CIA, which ran remote viewing programs that bordered on ancient magic. These programs, run by CIA partnering with Stanford Research Institute's then directors, physicists Hal Puthoff and Russell Targ, conclusively demonstrated that even novices could see things beyond the reach of visual sense.

Katherine's mind-over-matter experiments have affected:

* the growth rate of plants. University of Arizona psychologist Gary Schwartz working with web-based intention experiments, ran six such successful experiments, and presented the results before the Society for Scientific Exploration in June 2008.

* the direction fish swim. Psychologist William Braud, then of the Mind Science Institute in Texas, ran such experiments in the 1970s.

* chemical reactions in one's own body. Hundreds of studies on biofeedback and the effects of intention on living systems carried out by scientists such as Braud or Marilyn Schlitz, president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, show that intention can affect just about every system of the body, including the autonomic nervous system, biochemistry and even brain waves. The evidence also shows that when people send intention to others, elements of their biological processes, such as heart activity, breathing rate, blood flow and brain waves, begin operating in synch.

* Katherine carries out thought experiments on water, showing that she can change the design of the crystals, depending on whether she uses a positive or negative thought. These refer to the work of Dr. Masaru Emoto, author of The Hidden Messages in Water, who proposes that sending thoughts into water changes their crystalline patterns. Dean Radin of IONS successfully replicated Emoto's work under controlled conditions.

Lynne McTaggart, one of the preeminent spokespersons on consciousness and the new physics, is the award-winning journalist and author of five books, including the worldwide bestsellers The Field (Harper) and The Intention Experiment (Free Press). To find out more about her Intention Experiments and to participate in her global experiments, just register on her website:http://www.theintentionexperiment.com.

The Lost Symbol - The Secrets of the Freemasons in Dan Brown's Latest Novel

By Jenny Shaddick

The phenomenally successful launch of Dan Brown's latest offering, 'The Lost Symbol' is bound to arouse people's curiosity and interest in the mysterious and ancient organization known as The Freemasons. Dan Brown's book, The Lost Symbol, follows the indominatable Robert Langdon in a race against time to rescue his dear friend and trusted mentor, Peter Solomon, from a mysterious kidnapping. The unfortunate Peter Solomon also happens to be 'The Supreme Worshipful Master' of the Masonic Lodge of Washington DC. The rather scary, tattooed kidnapper has managed to infiltrate the Washington Masonic Lodge up to the highest and most secretive rank (the 33rd Degree). Thus 'The Lost Symbol' both centers around and casts some light upon some of the mystery and rituals surrounding the Masons.

Now, I have always been quite interested in anything secretive and exclusive (let's face it although Dan Brown does discuss a female branch) the Masons are traditionally well known as an exclusive brotherhood. I do remember trying to persuade my most gifted brother many years ago to join a Masonic Lodge in Cambridge during his university days, to infiltrate the Masons just to let me know all the secret rituals and philosophies involved. Sadly, he refused. Until quite recently, the two most common notions that the word 'Mason' used to conjure up for the non-initiated masses, including myself, tended to be the 'secret handshake'- nobody knows quite what this entails but there are more theories than actual possible handshakes and the rolled up trouser leg, again nobody was quite sure which trouser leg but the mention of 'The Masons' at most dinner tables would have somebody leaping up to roll up a trouser leg and hop about.

Dan Brown, at the very beginning of his book has included a page entitled 'Fact' and states that,

"All rituals, science, artwork, and monuments in this novel (The Lost Symbol) are real".

Brown goes on to describe, in some detail, secret Masonic initiation rituals. An important part of most of these rituals appears to be an acting out of exactly what would happen to a Mason if the secrets of the brotherhood were to be revealed. One initiation ceremony involves a ceremonial dagger pressed to the initiate's bare chest whilst he wears a ceremonial velvet hood in front of an elaborate altar. Punishments outlined should the 'Mysteries of the Freemasons' be revealed at this level include,

"having one's throat cut across, one's tongue torn out by its roots, and one's body buried in the rough sands of the sea...."

Acceptance into the third degree of the Masons involves acting out the initiate's murder with simulated blows to the victim's head including one with a Mason's stone maul. The story behind this ritual goes back to the master Architect of old who chose to die rather than reveal the Masonic Secrets that he possessed. Entrance into the highest level of the Mason's, the elite thirty third degree involves the famed 'caput mortuum', red wind drank out of a human skull in front of a black marble altar. The Mason takes the wine and announces,

"May this wine I now drink become a deadly poison to me... should I ever knowingly or willingly violate my oath" (of secrecy to the Masons).

As we can see from the above excerpts from the novel, a central and important part of all of the initiation rituals within the Masons involve fiercely guarding the secrets within, on pain of death. Nowadays, The Masons claim to be neither a religion, a cult nor a secret society. However, it is quite obvious from reading the fascinating snippets from Dan Brown's latest little gem that there is a lot more to the Freemasons then a group of powerful men rolling up their trouser legs and doing an odd little handshake. One thing is for sure, and that is Masonic history, ritual, belief and practices will continue to hold a fascination for the uninitiated for many years to come.

If Dan Browns' latest Bestseller has aroused your curiosity about the Masons do not miss out on a more in-depth look into these new, never-before disclosed secrets behind the Freemasons. The Freemasons Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jenny_Shaddick

Dan Brown "The Lost Symbol"

In this stunning follow-up to the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown demonstrates once again why he is the world's most popular thriller writer. The Lost Symbol is a masterstroke of storytelling-a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths . . . all under the watchful eye of Brown's most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C.,The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale. As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object -artfully encoded with five symbols-is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation . . . one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom. When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon-a prominent Mason and philanthropist -is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations-all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth. As the world discovered in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, Dan Brown's novels are brilliant tapestries of veiled histories, arcane symbols, and enigmatic codes. In this new novel, he again challenges readers with an intelligent, lightning-paced story that offers surprises at every turn. The Lost Symbol is exactly what Brown's fans have been waiting for . . . his most thrilling novel yet. From the Hardcover edition.

Dan Brown "The Da Vinci Code"

The Da Vinci Code is, in a manner of speaking, two books in one. The first is a very good suspense thriller. Author Dan Brown must either play or at least be aware of computer games; the plot has a computer game feel to it. The protagonists are dropped almost immediately into a situation of peril and must extricate themselves by solving a series of puzzles, with one puzzle's solution granting the privilege of looking at another puzzle, which also requires a solution.
There are two protagonists, Robert Landon and Sophie Neveu -- Robert an expert on religious symbology and a Harvard professor, and Sophie a cryptologist and Parisian police agent. Both have skill sets, not by accident, which allow for great success at solving puzzles -- at least the type of puzzles presented here.
The opening chapter is a grabber. Jacques Sauniere, the curator of the Louvre museum, is shot in the stomach by an albino monk named Silas and left to bleed slowly to death. Jacques Sauniere is, as chance and the author would have it, the grandfather of Sophie Neveu.
The time it takes Jacques to die is time enough for him to set up the first of the puzzles to be solved. His body is found naked, arms and legs splayed, with writings (written by Jacques in his own blood) which are meant to be secret coded messages to his granddaughter, Sophie. Robert Langdon is drawn into this murder (and its startling aftermath) as the Inspector on the case, Bezu Faches, believes he is the killer. Sophie, knowing Robert is innocent, helps him escape from the Musee du Louvre, and the chase (and puzzle solving) is on.
The plot turns are suspenseful, the mysteries and their solutions clever, even ingenious in some cases. This is a true nail-biter. The problem is with the "second" book incorporated into this first rate thriller. The plot here revolves around an intellectual belief that Jesus (yes, the Christian Jesus) had a love affair and/or was married to Mary Magdalene, who was in fact pregnant with Jesus's child at the time of the crucifixion -- a fact supposedly known by the Church and covered up. The "thing" everyone is being chased and killed for, is the secret of the location of the holy grail, a location known to many who belonged to a secret society throughout history, including Leonardo Da Vinci. No, the holy grail is not, under this theory, the cup Jesus drank wine from during the Last Supper, but rather a metaphor for Mary Magdalene. She is the "cup" that held Jesus's child: she is the true holy grail.
Da Vinci (and many others in history, including Walt Disney) have made allusions in their works to "the truth" of the grail. Da Vinci "knew" the truth. How do we know? Dan Brown has a "grail expert" named Teabing tell us. See Saint Peter in Da Vinci's great work "The Last Supper?" That is "clearly" not a man, but a woman. Not only a woman, but it "must be" Mary Magdalene!
Sure, who else? Another of the author's expert characters says:

"Finally," Teabing said [still in reference to Da Vinci's "The Last Supper"], "if you view Jesus and Mary Magdalene [formerly Saint Peter] as compositional elements rather than as people, you will see another obvious shape leap out at you." He paused. "A letter of the alphabet."

Sophie saw it at once...an enormous, flawlessly formed letter M.

What does this compositional M mean? Does it stand for the other Mary (Jesus's mother)? No, does it stand for "Master of the Arts," which Da Vinci no doubt believed himself to be? Did Da Vinci divine the future, see Walt Disney's work, and create a great M as tribute to Mickey Mouse?
Or is this M merely a compositional element in a great work of art? Anyone who has taken art history and art theory in college knows that X's and W's and, yes, M's are common compositional techniques to balance a painting. But this particular M must mean only one thing as far as Teabing is concerned. It means Mary Magdalene gave birth to Jesus's child and Da Vinci knew it!
This kind of conclusion is only possible when someone already has a conclusion and is looking to invent reasons to support it. Not very scientific, nor very logical. It is the intellectual equivalent of beer drinkers believing they were picked up by aliens and taken for a ride in a spaceship. The author might as well have had everyone running around searching for the secret location of a box of alien bones, proof of visitors from outer space.
And all of this "theory" is presented in a pedantic tone which slows down the action, although the author does do a good job of not letting it slow it down too much. So, four stars for the "action/suspense/puzzle plot" and one star for the silly theory that is the reason why everyone is killing everyone. That rounds out to about 2 1/2 stars.

Dan Brown "Deception Point"

Struggling to rebound from a series of embarrassing blunders that have jeopardized its political life at the start of this lively thriller, NASA makes an astounding discovery: there is a meteor embedded deep within the arctic ice. And it isn't just any meteor. Inside the huge rock, which crashed to earth in 1716, are fossils of giant insects proof of extraterrestrial life. Yet, given NASA's slipping reputation, the question arises: Is the meteor real or a fake? That uncertainty dogs NASA and its supporters in Brown's latest page-flipper, a finely polished amalgam of action and intrigue. Trying to determine the truth are intelligence agent Rachel Sexton and popular oceanographer Michael Tolland, both among the first to suspect something is amiss when the meteor is pulled from the ice. Their doubts quickly make them the targets of a mysterious death squad controlled by someone or something that doesn't want the public to hear the meteor may be a fraud. Together, Sexton and Tolland scramble across arctic glaciers, take refuge on ice floes, are rescued by a nuclear submarine, then find themselves trapped aboard a small research vessel off the coast of New Jersey. All the while, the nation's capital is buzzing as to whether NASA has engaged in deception. Or is NASA just a dupe for aerospace companies that have long wanted a bigger share of space contracts? Brown (Angels & Demons) moves into new territory with his latest. It's an excellent thriller a big yet believable story unfolding at breakneck pace, with convincing settings and just the right blend of likable and hateful characters. He's also done his research, folding in sophisticated scientific and military details that make his plot far more fulfilling than the norm.

Dan Brown "Angels & Demons"

An ancient secret brotherhood. A devastating new weapon of destruction. An unthinkable target. When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to his first assignment to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati...the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has now surfaced to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy -- the Catholic Church.
Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.
Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair...a clandestine location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.
Critics have praised the exhilarating blend of relentless adventure, scholarly intrigue, and cutting wit found in Brown's remarkable thrillers featuring Robert Langdon. An explosive international suspense, Angels & Demons marks this hero's first adventure as it careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war.

Dan Brown "Digital Fortress"

When the NSA's invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant, beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage--not by guns or bombs -- but by a code so complex that if released would cripple U.S. intelligence. Caught in an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, Fletcher battles to save the agency she believes in. Betrayed on all sides, she finds herself fighting not only for her country but for her life, and in the end, for the life of the man she loves.

Digital Fortress: A Thriller