• Question: What is your opinion on the books 'Angels and Demons', 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'The Lost Symbol' written by Dan Brown? If you have not read any of these books then I would suggest reading them since they're really interesting and I would love to hear your opinions of them as scientists!

    Asked by veatrix to Chris, Kay, Kerstin, Lorna, Liv on 23 Mar 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Olivia Hibbitt

      Olivia Hibbitt answered on 23 Mar 2010:

      Hey Veatrix,

      I don’t have a very high opinion of Dan Brown! I tried reading The Da Vinci code and had to stop….I found the writing pretty poor and the story was a bit lame! I think his science writing is pretty bad, he doesn’t really know what he’s talking about and it really shows! Have you read any Margaret Attwood….her science writing is fantastic….Oryx and Crake is especially awesome!

    • Photo: Kerstin Zechner

      Kerstin Zechner answered on 23 Mar 2010:

      I’ve read “The Da Vinci Code”. I think the book has rightly been labelled fiction, as a lot of the stuff he says is very far fetched. If you really want to, you can see patterns in nearly everything.

    • Photo: Chris Needham

      Chris Needham answered on 23 Mar 2010:

      Ta. I struggle to find the time to read books like these as I read so much at work (and generally these books irritate me big style).

    • Photo: Kay Penicud

      Kay Penicud answered on 23 Mar 2010:

      Incredibly far fetched plot absolutely not possible, but a great read!!

    • Photo: Lorna Houlihan

      Lorna Houlihan answered on 24 Mar 2010:

      Nice quest! I have read the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons a really long time ago. I loved them at the time because they are so compulsive – really page turning stuff. And I was interested as the end of Da Vinci Code they were in Edinburgh, where I live and I went to visit the church they talk about – Roslin Chapel. It’s cool!! I have to say that I thought all the religion theory was very interesting but I don’t know enough to comment on whether it’s true or not!

Comments

  • Photo: tunasteak

    tunasteak commented on :

    woah woah woah this was started by avatar wasn’t it

    • Photo: veatrix

      veatrix commented on :

      No not really, I was just interested to find out what real scientists thought of those books and whether there is even one ounce of truth in them. Seems to me I misjudged the books since I know so little about science!

  • Moderator - Sophia commented on :

    I’m also not much of a fan of Dan Brown, but I read the Da Vinci code to see what all the fuss is about. I know what you mean Liv – it’s not great literature, but I think it does work as a page-turner.

    Some of the ideas he talks about are interesting ones, and maybe that is why a lot of people found it interesting. Although I do think his version is a bit sensationalist. But, for example, the idea that Mary Magdelene was actually an important figure in the very early church, but then was written out of the story, is a powerful one, that there is a lot of evidence for. There is a fantastic book about Mary Magdalene by a woman called Susan Haskins – but it is a bit serious. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Mary-Magdalen/Susan-Haskins/e/9781568524962

    I also think the ‘sacred marriage’ he talks about – idea of male and female as two equally important elements of the world, is one that people respond to. Lots of religions have mother goddesses, and male and female deities coming together to create things. And the Taoists have the idea of Ying and Yang. As biologists we know that male and female coming together to create new things is at the heart of everything! (We’ll leave aside the prokaryotes for now:-)). So maybe this is something to think about…