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BOOK REVIEW

‘Noetic Science’ in The Lost Symbol JOE NICKELL

The Lost Symbol. By Dan Brown, Doubleday, New York, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-385-50422-5. Hardcover, $29.95.

an Brown has done it again. He’s ing retreats and workshops, IONS produced another page-turning, “explores the frontiers of consciousness” Dthrill-a-minute novel, offering and “researches subtle energies and the up more pseudohistory and pseudo- power of healing,” among other things. science in the process. Its vision stems from an “epiphany” Just like his earlier The Da Vinci Code that astronaut Edgar Mitchell had in (2003), The Lost Symbol (2009) begins 1971 when, on the Apollo 14 Moon with a gruesome discovery in a public mission, he saw planet Earth suspended gallery and proceeds—by solving devil- in space. According to Mitchell, “The ishly cryptic puzzles, analyzing artworks, presence of divinity became almost pal- and uncovering lost histories—on a quest pable, and I knew that life in the uni- for a fabled treasure, while the hero and verse was not just an accident based on heroine are dogged by both a freakish, random processes. . . . The knowledge maniacal killer and equally relentless came to me directly” (Institute 2009). authorities. To borrow from Yogi Berra, In fact, Mitchell was already involved “It’s déjà vu all over again!” in the paranormal, conducting his own Brown claimed portions of The Da private unauthorized ESP experiment Vinci Code were based on fact. In particu- during the Apollo 14 mission. Although lar, he asserted that a secret society called Now, The Lost Symbol—featuring a he touted the results at odds of about the Priory of Sion was “a real organiza- quest for the hidden secrets of the 3,000 to one, it was only by citing a tion” founded in 1099 and that parch- ancients, namely the veiled truths of the “negative ESP effect,” as he termed it ments that surfaced in 1975 listed among Freemasons, and set in Washington, (Mitchell 1974, 34), “because the num- its noted members Leonardo da Vinci. DC—takes a leap of faith into something ber of hits was amazingly low”! Un- Actually, Les Dossiers Secrets were proven called “Noetic Science.” Time magazine deterred, Mitchell also came to believe to have been part of a hoax, one that called it “an ill-advised fling” (Grossman that plants could perceive and compre- snookered the authors of two popular 2009). What is Noetic Science? Well, it hend human thoughts and that spoon- pseudohistories, Holy Blood, Holy Grail has more to do with noetic (after a Greek bending magician Uri Geller had gen- and The Templar Revelation. Brown’s word suggesting “inner knowing”) than uine psychic and psychokinetic powers reliance on such sources earned him with science. (Randi 1995, 203–204). deserved chastisement from Da Vinci The concept, advanced by the Insti- Mitchell is a repeat conspiracy theo- scholars (see “Deciphering Da Vinci’s tute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) in rist, claiming that the reality of UFOs, Real Codes” [Nickell 2007]). Northern California, supposedly involves the crash of a flying saucer at Roswell, “the rigor of science” but is “balanced by and the study of recovered alien corpses Joe Nickell, PhD, is CSI’s senior research personal and collective wisdom” in order have all been subjected to government fellow. Formerly a detective with an inter- “to support a shift in consciousness that “disinformation” to hide the truth from national private investigative agency, he is transforms present global conditions into the public. His organization, IONS, author of such books as Crime Science a world grounded in freedom, wisdom, suggests he has found reality more com- and Unsolved History. His Web site is and love” (according to the IONS Web plex than “conventional science had led www.joenickell.com. site [Institute 2009]). In addition to host- him to believe” (Institute 2009). How-

60 VOLUME 34, ISSUE 1 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER SI Jan Feb 2010 pgs 11/12/09 11:07 AM Page 61

BOOK REVIEWS

ever, to many, he must seem out of repeatedly shouts out the incredible odds expressed in Masonry as “the Great touch with reality. For example, he now against chance of getting some result in an Architect of the Universe” (the “G” in the claims to have been remotely cured of experiment that allegedly demonstrates Masonic emblem)—and he concludes kidney cancer (which was never defini- telepathy, precognition, or psychokinesis, that, historically, “God was the universal tively diagnosed), effected by a teenager yet he still can’t find a single person in any constant for man.” At the end of the calling himself Adam Dreamcatcher of these experiments who is even aware of novel, he feels a “powerful upwelling,” an (“Edgar Mitchell” 2009). a psychic ability, much less able to emotion he had never felt so profoundly Among Mitchell’s like-minded col- demonstrate one under properly con- before: “Hope.” leagues at IONS is its head scientist, Dean trolled conditions.” Dan Brown knows a lot about hope. Radin, who has also endorsed such dubi- Despite repeated discreditations of He knows it sells—or at least a version ous phenomena as psychokinetic spoon Noetic Science, Dan Brown’s heroine of it does: the elusive hope that much of bending (which he himself claims once to Katherine Solomon concludes that our the paranormal represents. It is the stuff have accomplished), as well as “remote brains are capable of “superhuman” pow- of fantasies—the belief in the power of the mind alone to effect change, in the ability to glimpse the future, in the sur- vival of death—and Brown knows how Mitchell is a repeat conspiracy theorist, claiming that to serve it up, neatly packaged and sealed on the cover with an embossed the reality of UFOs, the crash of a flying saucer wax signet above gilt lettering, “The Lost Symbol.” But may we hope, too, at Roswell, and the study of recovered alien corpses that the truth will prevail? ! have all been subjected to government References “disinformation” to hide the truth from the public. Brown, Dan. 2003. The Da Vinci Code. New York: Doubleday. ———. 2009. The Lost Symbol. New York: Doubleday. Carroll, Robert T. 2009. Review of Dean Radin’s Entangled Minds. Available online at http:// viewing” and other forms of ESP, healing ers. “Within a matter of years,” she skepdic.com/refuge/entangledreview.html thoughts (even those sent back in time), asserts, “modern man will be forced to (accessed October 15, 2009). Dean Radin. 2009. Wikipedia. Available online at yogic levitation, and an “intention” effect accept what is now unthinkable: our http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Radin (the idea that food can be mentally minds can generate energy capable of (accessed October 15, 2009). “embedded” with positive intentions). transforming physical matter.” Moreover, Good, I.J. 1997. Where has the billion trillion gone? Nature 389 (23 October), 806–807. Radin claimed a test he conducted “God is very real—a mental energy that Grossman, Lev. 2009. How good is Dan Brown’s showed that subjects who ate a product pervades everything.” She adds: “Look to The Lost Symbol ?Available online at called Intentional Chocolate greatly history. Look to the stories of those www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,192318 improved their mood. Said Radin: “If the enlightened minds who performed mirac- 2,00.html (accessed September 21, 2009). Institute of Noetic Sciences Home Page. 2009. Pope blessed the water, everyone wants ulous feats.” In Noetic fashion she pro- Available online at www.noetic.org/ (accessed that water. But does it actually do some- claims, “I have witnessed people trans- September 15, 2009). thing? The answer is yes, to a small form cancer cells into healthy cells simply Kornfeld, Alana B. Elias. 2009. Mind over Choco- late. Available online at www.time.com/ extent” (“Dean Radin” 2009; Spoon by thinking about them.” time/printout/0,8816,1887858,00.html (ac- bending evidence by Dean Radin 2009; The novel’s protagonist, “symbologist” cessed October 15, 2009). Kornfeld 2009). Robert Langdon, is at first doubtful— Mitchell, Edgar D. 1974. Psychic Exploration: A Radin’s paranormal claims have not proving a skeptical foil to Katherine’s Challenge for Science. Ed. John White. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. been accepted by mainstream science and, New Agey assertions. However, she Nickell, Joe. 2007. Deciphering Da Vinci’s real indeed, his work has been faulted by sci- insists: “The idea of universal consciousness codes. SKEPTICAL INQUIRER 31(3)(May/June), entific critics (e.g., Good 1997). is no ethereal New Age concept. It’s a 23–25. Randi, James. 1995. The Supernatural A-Z: The According to The Skeptic’s Dictionary hard-core scientific reality . . . and har- Truth and the Lies. London: Brockhampton (Carroll 2009), “Radin distorts the his- nessing it has the potential to transform Press. tory of psi research, omitting the seedy our world. This is the underlying discov- Spoon bending evidence by Dean Radin. 2006. Available online at www.mind-energy.net/ side of the story, and abuses statistics to ery of Noetic Science” (pp. 500–504). archives/133-Spoon-bending-evidence-by- make his case for the paranormal. He Langdon begins to reflect on God— Dean-Radin.html (accessed October 15, 2009).

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