VMs: OT: The Da Vinci Code...

[Nick Pelling <incoming@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi everyone,

I've just finished reading "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown (soon to be a 
Major Motion Picture, possibly with Robin Williams?). IMO, any book 
published in 2003 that begins with the words...

	"FACT:
	The Priory of Sion --
	a European secret society founded in
	1099 -- is a real organization".

...isn't ~hugely~ credible. :-o

All the same, the book's a lively read, rather more about word-games than 
crypto (it does briefly discuss atbash) - in fact, though it's quite fun 
overall, it never really gets "under the skin" of its subject matter 
(codes, symbology, the feminine, etc). Just about right for a film, but a 
bit thin for a book.

One thing I didn't know: the text mentions the cryptologic notion of a 
"self-authorising language" - that is, "if you're smart enough to read it, 
you're permitted to know what is being said" (p.205). Sounds vaguely 
familiar? :-)

Cheers, .....Nick Pelling.....


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