Is there any truth to the "DaVinci Code?" How could it capture the popular imagination otherwise?
Make your case here.
Posted on 05/18/2006 10:14:29 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Since its 2003 publication, "The Da Vinci Code" has caused quite a stir. Since its debut to glowing reviews, it has sold more than 40 million copies in at least 44 languages [ref]. In addition to being a bestseller, it's sparked a lot of controversy. It's a work of fiction, but it presents itself as based in fact, and many critics have raised questions about whether those facts are accurate.
It's no secret that the HowStuffWorks staff likes to take things apart and see what makes them tick. Some of us are also the kind of sticklers who point out science and technology mistakes in TV shows and movies, much to the chagrin of the people listening. But when we heard about the controversy surrounding "The Da Vinci Code," we couldn't resist picking it apart.
In this article, you'll learn what happened when we took a close, hard look at "The Da Vinci Code" and how it uses science, technology, art and history.
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Trouble at the Louvre
"The Da Vinci Code" begins with a crime at the Louvre Museum in Paris. At the behest of someone known as "the Teacher," a man named Silas murders curator Jacques Saunière. After reviewing the evidence, French investigators summon Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon for questioning.
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Captain Bezu Fache of the Direction Centrale Police Judiciaire (DCPJ) is sure that Langdon is the murderer. Fache has one of his lieutenants plant a GPS dot in Landon's pocket. It's a "metallic, button-shaped disk, about the size of a watch battery." This dot, according to cryptographer Sophie Neveu, is accurate to two feet and lets the DCPJ track Langdon's location, no matter where he is. In other words:
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However, real global positioning system (GPS) devices:
One fact explains all of these points -- by definition, a GPS receiver uses radio waves to communicate with satellites that are 11,000 miles above the Earth's service. The receiver has to have an unbroken line of sight to these satellites, something it doesn't have indoors. Even military GPS technology can't typically get a fix on a soldier who is in dense tree cover or otherwise concealed. Check out How GPS Receivers Work to learn more.
The troublesome GPS dot keeps causing problems as the story moves along. Sophie tells Langdon that if he throws the dot away, the DCPJ officers will see that it is no longer moving and know he's onto them. She comes up with an ingenious plan. She imbeds the receiver in a bar of soap, breaks a restroom window and throws the soap onto the roof of a passing truck.
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That seems like a good plan, and it works. The officers rush to apprehend the truck, believing that Langdon is on the roof. This buys him and Sophie some time. Unfortunately:
In spite of its inaccuracies, this move does buy Sophie and Langdon some time. But the mistakes in the Louvre don't stop there. Check out what else goes wrong in the museum in the next section.
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Museums, Medicine and Other Mistakes
The Battle Langdon and Sophie both seem sure that lots of evidence incriminates Langdon as Sanière's murderer, and little exonerates him. But anyone who's watched police procedurals on television (or the movie "The Boondock Saints") knows that investigators can test a person's hands for gunshot residue (GSR). Maybe neither of the two heroes watches TV. |
In another burst of quick thinking, Sophie removes Leonardo's "Virgin of the Rocks" (called "Madonna of the Rocks" in the novel) from the wall opposite the "Mona Lisa." She uses the painting as a shield and threatens to destroy it by pressing her knee through the canvas. Naturally, the apprehending officer allows her to escape in order to prevent the destruction of the priceless artwork.
A few critics have remarked that the scene in the Salle des Etats is impossible because Leonardo painted "Virgin of the Rocks" on wood, not canvas. However, a royal art restorer called Hacquin transferred the painting to canvas in 1806. The scene is impossible as written for other reasons:
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 Image courtesy Dennis Hurley Dennis Hurley, creator of the satirical film "The Albino Code," which addresses the way that "The Da Vinci Code" presents people with albinism. |
The farther the story moves away from the Louvre, the more it begins to focus on events in the distant past and artistic interpretation rather than verifiable details. But it does make several other concrete errors, including its depiction of people with albinism. One of "The Da Vinci Code"'s villains is a man named Silas, who is an albino. He has white skin and hair as well as pink eyes with red pupils. Silas is good with a gun and drives a car at night in pursuit of the heroes.
Albinism is a real medical condition in which a person's body cannot produce the proper amount of the pigment melanin. Most people with albinism have very pale skin and hair and light-colored eyes. Very few people with the condition have pink eyes, though. Most have light blue eyes.
Albinism prevents a person's retina and ocular nerves from forming properly. For this reason, doctors use eye examinations to diagnose people with the condition. Most people with albinism don't see well because their retinas don't function properly. Although few are blind, many do not see well enough to drive a car or, as seen in "The Da Vinci Code," to shoot people from a distance. In other words, it's extremely unlikely that Silas could perform the tasks described in the novel. You can learn more about albinism at the National Organization of Albinism and Hypopigmentation.
Other errors aren't as complex as the ones described above:
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Next, we'll take a look at the novel's treatment of art and history.
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A hundred kilometers per liter -- or 239 miles per gallon -- is an impossible figure. Smart Cars get closer to 60 miles per gallon, or 21 kilometers per liter [ref]. Twenty one kilometers per liter is approximately 100 kilometers per gallon, though, which is a real metric mix-up. |
Art and History
"The Da Vinci Code" makes a lot of claims about art and the Christian Bible. Of all the disputed statements in the book, these can be the hardest to prove or quantify. Although some people spend their entire lives studying and interpreting art or religious scriptures, both fields are by nature imprecise. It can be impossible to determine an artist's actual intent for a particular piece or the exact meaning behind a particular religious passage.
According to the novel, Leonardo placed hidden symbols and codes in his paintings. For example, the book makes a lot of assertions about the "Mona Lisa," including:
 Image courtesy NASA
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Which of these points are true? Here's what we found:
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"The Da Vinci Code" also proposes theories about Leonardo's painting of the "Last Supper." According to the book, it shows Mary Magdalene at the right hand of Jesus as well as a disembodied hand bearing a knife. Langdon's explanation for why people don't notice the painting's hidden meaning involves "scotoma" -- the brain blocking knowledge associated with powerful symbols. However, "scotoma" is a medical term that simply means "blind spot." A scotoma typically stems from neurological or ocular dysfunction -- not from exposure to a powerful symbol.
The figure to the right of Jesus does have a feminine appearance, but most scholars agree that it is the apostle John, who typically has a youthful, delicate appearance in artwork of the period. Careful examination of the painting also reveals that the "disembodied" hand really belongs to Peter, although he is holding the knife in a somewhat awkward position. Check out these annotated pictures to learn more.
The novel also makes numerous assertions about history and other works of art. Here's a run-down of some of the frequently contested points:
Check out the links in the next section for more information on the Louvre, "The Da Vinci Code" and other locations referenced in the book.
Lots More Information
Related HowStuffWorks Articles
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Sources
Next you'll be telling me that Sherlock Holmes only imagined Dr. Moriarity....
I don't understand why so much credence is given to Da Vinci's INTERPRETATION of the Last Supper. I mean, was the guy there or something? No. So why does HIS painting a person appearing to be female mean Jesus was married.
Furthermore, I personally don't care if Jesus was married. The Bible says he died without sin. Unless you consider sex with your spouse "sin", he died without sin.
bad second link to something on freepers that 'doesn't exist on this server'
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1634449/tv.htm
It doesn't exist on Howstuffworks.com's site either. Sony has moved the page.
Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man, but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel.
apparently there are a lot of links on this article that give the same result, i.e. not exist on this server.
Bump for later read.
That is pretty ingenius. The French would never discover anything in a bar of soap.
So, the bottom line is, everyone is getting all worked up as to whether this piece of fiction is really fiction. Millions of people are going to go see the movie this weekend. The makers of the film are going to get rich. And, the debate will continue.............
Self-ping
Many points here are picky, picky indeed.
Because I'm a math teacher, I'll tackle this one.
To say that phi is 1.618 is about as accurate as stating that pi is 3.1416. That is, close enough for most things. (In fact, we jokingly refer to March 14 as "Pi Day" because it's 3/14, at least in the U.S.)
Phi is the Golden Ratio, which is found throughout history in artwork. It's the ratio of the Parthenon and probably the ratio of the screen on which you'd view this film (unless you're waiting for the video on TV).
Saying that a number is plus or minus the square root of 5 divided by two (adding a half, of course) is a bit clunky. I could just as easily describe it as the nth Fibonacci number divided by the (n-1)th Fibonacci number as n approaches infinity. But that would be wrong. (No, wait! That would actually be correct, but it'd be wrong to try to express it that way to someone who didn't ... ah, forget it. 1.618 is good enough for government work.)
Can you get these guys to look into "E.T" for me? I've got a boatload of Reese's Pieces stockpiled.
I thought it belonged to the waiter, who looked suspisciously like Mel Brooks.
yeah, but I really want to know is who they claim is the last living descendant of Jesus?
I saw a somewhat interesting program that was a reality check on The Da Vinci Code. The most interesting section of the program was the footage and description of a ritual at the seashore celebrating the lengendary day two of the Marys from the gospel came ashore in France (Gaul at the time) as refugees from the Holy Land, and Mary Magdalene was carrying an alabaster vase, which the celebrants consider to be the Holy Grail.
There was a girl child with them, and some claim it was Mary Magdalene's daughter, but the local priest says oral history makes her the Egyptian servant of the women.
Now it is possible that the San Grail (Holy Grail) was miswritten as Sang Real (Blood Royal) as the book claims, but it could literally have been Holy Blood/Royal Blood, not a child of Christ.
The alabaster vase may have been used to catch the blood of Christ, as I have vague recollection that corpses in those days were drained and washed of blood before wrapping for burial. So, this part of the oral history may have a germ of truth. Some of the followers of Christ may have bourne a container of his blood with them when they fled the Holy Land.
Still I'd like someone to FReep me a spoiler and tell me who they claim is the current living descendent of Christ. I heard the audience was incredulous when this surprise ending was revealed.
It's a French thing, so:
My guess is most don't.
My guess is that almost all
the internet "buzz"
is from people who
work for advertising firms
and blanket the web
pretending to be
"outraged Christians" all the while
pumping up the buzz . . .
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