Friday, July 24, 2009 Of Dan Brown And Cryptography Posted by juphelia at 17:09

I just finished reading Dan Brown’s “Digital Fortress” for the second time. I remember the first time I read that, I was so engrossed and captivated that I could hardly put the book down and finished it within a couple of hours! Now that I read it again, I am still so captivated and engrossed by the story!

I am never a figures person, so it takes a long time for me to crack any code to do with numbers. If it is anagrams, word search or crossword, I can get that done in a short time, but for Sudoku, I am still unable to get all right. Hence, I will fail miserably at algorithms in cryptography. Still, Cryptography itself is an interesting subject.

Imagine if you want to communicate only to your loved one. Why not try a code within a code, something which only both of you can understand? Or if you want to bring your message across to an ally but do not wish to let it fall in enemies’ hands, you can try to weave a help signal into a code so only your ally can decode it? Imagine if I am to tell a story in code, now how interesting will that be? No one can ever decipher what I say, save for those who are ultra smart or who venture a very lucky guess. I can even write my name in code and no one will know my full name!

Because I enjoy mind games (as in quizzes, logical puzzles, code breaking, not playing of people’s emotions), sometimes I do have my own code game. For instance, I will have my phone number in code. So whichever guy who wishes to know my number have to break the code. I started doing this when I just got to know people, and not sure if they are sincere or dubious. So when they asked me for my number, I would tell them in code. Those who were able to break the code would be those I believe to be more intelligent, thus I gave them a chance. Those who could not or could not be bothered to, I left those behind.

To me, if the guy is really sincere in getting my number, he would crack it just to contact me. Besides I find that refreshing and intriguing if someone does that to me. So far about eighty percent of those I have “quizzed” were able to get it right at the first or second try the most. Maybe my code is too easy to break! In that case, the other twenty percent really need to be spoon fed, so just as well I stopped all contact!

How I wish I can think up a real code that no one except myself will be able to break! Perhaps in the future when I draw up a will to split whatever little assets I have, I will play a game with my beneficiaries. I will use a code in a riddle and they will have to go on a treasure hunt to find the missing will. The first person to find it will be entitled to be the administrator. How fun that will be! ;-p

Sunday, May 21, 2006 The Da Vinci Code Movie Posted by juphelia at 11:15

Solve this anagram : A Man's Oil. I am surprised at myself that I managed to solve it the moment I saw the promotion poster outside the theatre. Answer : Mona Lisa.

But I am so happy that I can finally watch the movie which I have waited almost a year for. When we reached the theatre, it was such a long queue, from in front of the box office all the way to the middle of the shopping mall.

Since we were almost right at the back of the queue, we could not even see the timings on the little screen properly. What luck that we are both deeply myopic and do not have perfect vision even with lenses on.

So I stayed in the queue and he went in front to check out the timings. He came back and told me that almost all the shows have sold out, all the way until the midnight show. What?! He said we could always watch another show and watch this the following week.

No way! I waited so long just to watch the movie! Besides, I am looking forward to "X-Men" next week! Even if it is not Da Vinci, I want to watch Tom Hanks in action!

So we decided to try our luck at the theatre in the next shopping mall. And luckily this time we managed to get tickets, not just for Da Vinci, but "Over The Hedge" as well.

Tom Hanks put up a superb performance, as usual. The movie is more than just an adaptation; it is almost the entire book itself. Every character, every scene, every action, it is just as if I am reading the book all over again, but with moving pictures this time instead of just words.

The only part that was changed is around the end when Sophie discovered her true identity, and the identity of her grandfather. The movie-makers decided to change that part probably to make it more interesting, but actually, I feel the book's ending is still better.

Overall a very good movie of the drama genre. Although we are wondering what garnered the NC-16 rating, since there is no nudity or coarse language or real violence anywhere. Perhaps it is the storyline. But then, the book has been read by kids as young as nine even, so does it really matter even if kids below the age of sixteen get to watch it?

It is true that a picture speaks a thousand words. I never know how magnificent the Louvre is until I saw it on screen, or how beautiful the Mona Lisa and Madonna of the Rocks are. Da Vinci was a genius indeed, to be able to create such artistry using just a few colours. And it was after reading the book that I started looking at the Last Supper a little differently.

The book and the show is just fiction. Dan Brown was sued for blasphemy because of his works. And Christians worldwide are protesting to ban the show. However, a good piece of fiction is a good piece of fiction.

People should just keep an open mind and understand that everything is just fiction. Just because one reads the book or watch the movie, does not automatically mean one becomes a betrayer of the faith. It is how you live your life and practice the faith that determines a good Christian, not because of some author's good imagination.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005 What Dan Brown Tells Us Posted by juphelia at 01:20

1. HE IS A GENIUS!!!

2. One can make antimatter (the opposite element of matter) out of nothing.

3. Science and Religion cannot co-exist together. (Just think : Darwin's Theory of Evolution and Galileo's Corpernican theory that the Sun is the centre of the universe goes against any church and biblical teachings. Ironically, the Big Bang theory is exactly what Genesis is based on - create things out of nothing. Food for thought there.)

4. The Brotherhood of Illuminati (ancient arch-enemies of Catholics), Opus Dei (a group of extreme Catholics) and the Priory of Sion REALLY exist.

5. Jesus had a wife (Mary Magdalene).

6. Mona Lisa was an aphrodyte.

7. The Holy Grail was nothing to do with any glass or cup used by Jesus.

8. The image of God was modelled after the ancient Greek God Zeus.

9. The painting "The Last Supper" had Mary Magdalene sitting on Jesus' right.

10. Jesus was actually born sometime in March, but December 25 is celebrated as Christmas as it is the end of the winter solstice.

11. The official language of Vatican City was Italian, French and Latin. English was only for backward and feminine scholars like Shakespeare and Chaucer. (Now, why is English considered the official language of the world then?)

12. Swiss Guards are specially trained to patrol and protect the Pope and the Carmelengo from harm.

13. Vatican City has a vast amount of riches that can support every Catholic church in the world.

14. Terrorists' main aim are not to destroy buildings and cities, but to instil fear and enable the public to stray away from faith.

15. Mathematics is the purest language in the world.

"Angels and Demons" and "Da Vinci Code" challenged all the Catholic teachings I have ever learnt. Despite all these, I still love the books. And I still want to go to Rome to visit the Pantheon, and to Vatican City to see the Sistine Chapel. Great work of architecture, even if it is not for religious reasons.

I hope to be like him - knowledgeable on the subjects of physics, religions, symbology and art history!