The book club met on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 7 PM to discuss The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. There are many issues I wish I could have explored further while reading the book, but here are a few resources I did check out that bear on the book and the subject matter explored in the novel.

Does a thought have mass or gravity? There’s at least some literature on this topic but nothing scientific that I could find. See http://nariphaltan.virtualave.net/gravity.pdf (referenced on page 76 of The Lost Symbol).

Was Aleister Crowley a real person and called by the church “The wickedest man in the world?” Yes, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley (referenced on page 287 of The Lost Symbol).

Is the circumpunct really a circle in a dot and does it represent the sun, Ra, gold, the eye of God, Spirit, and control of passions (Freemasonry)? Yes see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circled_dot (referenced on pages 316-317 of The Lost Symbol).

Does the soul have weight and can it be verified by body weight at the moment of death? Maybe. See www.snopes.com/religion/soulweight.asp (referenced on page 394 of The Lost Symbol).

Were early founders of America Deists? (referenced on page 407 of The Lost Symbol). From Wikipedia: “Deism is a religious and philosophical belief that a supreme being created the universe, and that this (and religious truth in general) can be determined using reason and observation of the natural world alone, without a need for either faith or organized religion. Deists tend to, but do not necessarily, reject the notion of divine interventions in human affairs, such as by miracles and revelations. These views contrast with a dependence on revelations, miracles, and faith found in many Judeo-Christian, Islamic and other theistic teachings.” Wikipedia lists founding fathers who were Deists including: Ellan Allen, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Thomas Paine, and George Washington. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deists.

Does Mayan Math really say something about 2012? (referenced on page 408 of The Lost Symbol). Yes and no, that’s the date the Mayan calendar ends (December 21, 2012) and supposedly a realignment of the Sun will cause a catastrophic occurrence on Earth. See http://www.adishakti.org/mayan_end_times_prophecy_12-21-2012.htm and http://www.universetoday.com/2008/05/19/no-doomsday-in-2012/.

Happy reading and exploring!

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