Subject
Fw: Fw: IPH solution/DaVinci Code
From
Date
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Mary Krimmel" <mary@krimmel.net>
>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (85
lines) ------------------
> On this list, Martin Gardner may well be best known for his Annotated
Alice
> and Ambidextrous Universe.
>
> He is widely known as a columnist for Scientific American magazine for
some
> thirty years. His columns have been expanded and published in many books
> which are perennially popular among persons interested in recreational
> mathematics and among mathematics students.
>
> He also has written other books on popular science and on pseudo-science,
> has annotated other classics, has written a novel and a book of
philosophic
> essays.
>
> Mary Krimmel
>
> At 11:01 AM 7/18/03 -0700, you wrote:
> >EDNOTE. Mary Bellino is the Associate Editor of the journal NABOKOV
STUDIES
> >(that you should all subscribe to). More information on VN & Martin
Gardner
> >maybe found in my "Ambidextrous Universe in Loook at the Harlequins" in
> >_Critical Essays on VN_, ed. Phyllis Roth (1983) and reprinted in my
WORLDS
> >in REGRESSION.
> >
> > >
> > > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (57
> >lines) ------------------
> > > From Mary Bellino (iambe@rcn.com):
> > >
> > > I read The Davinci Code during a slow spell a few weeks ago,
> > > and found it dreadful ( as Carolyn Kunin says) and replete
> > > with minor errors. It draws I believe pretty heavily on a
> > > book called The Codebreakers by David Kahn, first published
> > > in 1967 and reissued in the mid-90s. The Codebreakers is a
> > > good read -- although I don't think Nabokov read it. But at
> > > some point prior to the publication of Ada, Nabokov fell
> > > under the spell of the mathematician and popularizer Martin
> > > Gardner, whose book The Ambidextrous Universe (1964)
> > > mentions John Shade (Nabokov in turn mentioned Gardner in
> > > Ada, and the novel seems to draw on Gardner's book, which is
> > > subtitled "Mirror asymmetry and time-reversed worlds").
> > > Presumably Nabokov had not heard of Gardner prior to 1964 --
> > > or had he? Gardner is probably best known for his "Annotated
> > > Alice," first published in 1960, and Nabokov of course knew
> > > the Alice books well. If his attention was drawn to The
> > > Annotated Alice in 1960, it's possible that Nabokov read
> > > some of Gardner's voluminous popular writings on math,
> > > puzzles, codes and the like while he was composing Pale Fire.
> > >
> > > Mary
> > >
> > >
> > > "D. Barton Johnson" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: "Carolyn Kunin" <chaiselongue@earthlink.net>
> > > > To: "Vladimir Nabokov Forum" <NABOKV-L@listserv.ucsb.edu>
> > > > Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2003 9:36 AM
> > > > Subject: IPH solution?
> > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (15
> > > > lines) ------------------
> > > > > To the List,
> > > > >
> > > > > I am reading a dreadful novel currently being pushed even on NPR
> >called
> > > > "The
> > > > > Da Vinci Code." The usual shlock-thriller with an intriguing twist
for
> > > > > Nabokovians -- lots of information on de-coding (I did not know,
for
> > > > > example, that anagrams were ever considered sacred, which the
author
> > > > > claims).
> > > > >
> > > > > There is quite a bit about the golden mean and the Fibonacci
numbers,
> >and
> > > > by
> > > > > chance, instead of writing the ratio 1.0821 (or whatever it is) as
the
> > > > Greek
> > > > > letter Phi (as in Phi Beta Kappa), it is written PHI.
> > > > >
> > > > > I wonder iph ...
> > > > >
> > > > > Carolyn
> > > > ------------------------------
> > > > EDNOTE. "PHI" (Fie) is not a bad response to Shade's "IPH"
(Institute of
> > > > Preparation for the Hereafter."
>
>
From: "Mary Krimmel" <mary@krimmel.net>
>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (85
lines) ------------------
> On this list, Martin Gardner may well be best known for his Annotated
Alice
> and Ambidextrous Universe.
>
> He is widely known as a columnist for Scientific American magazine for
some
> thirty years. His columns have been expanded and published in many books
> which are perennially popular among persons interested in recreational
> mathematics and among mathematics students.
>
> He also has written other books on popular science and on pseudo-science,
> has annotated other classics, has written a novel and a book of
philosophic
> essays.
>
> Mary Krimmel
>
> At 11:01 AM 7/18/03 -0700, you wrote:
> >EDNOTE. Mary Bellino is the Associate Editor of the journal NABOKOV
STUDIES
> >(that you should all subscribe to). More information on VN & Martin
Gardner
> >maybe found in my "Ambidextrous Universe in Loook at the Harlequins" in
> >_Critical Essays on VN_, ed. Phyllis Roth (1983) and reprinted in my
WORLDS
> >in REGRESSION.
> >
> > >
> > > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (57
> >lines) ------------------
> > > From Mary Bellino (iambe@rcn.com):
> > >
> > > I read The Davinci Code during a slow spell a few weeks ago,
> > > and found it dreadful ( as Carolyn Kunin says) and replete
> > > with minor errors. It draws I believe pretty heavily on a
> > > book called The Codebreakers by David Kahn, first published
> > > in 1967 and reissued in the mid-90s. The Codebreakers is a
> > > good read -- although I don't think Nabokov read it. But at
> > > some point prior to the publication of Ada, Nabokov fell
> > > under the spell of the mathematician and popularizer Martin
> > > Gardner, whose book The Ambidextrous Universe (1964)
> > > mentions John Shade (Nabokov in turn mentioned Gardner in
> > > Ada, and the novel seems to draw on Gardner's book, which is
> > > subtitled "Mirror asymmetry and time-reversed worlds").
> > > Presumably Nabokov had not heard of Gardner prior to 1964 --
> > > or had he? Gardner is probably best known for his "Annotated
> > > Alice," first published in 1960, and Nabokov of course knew
> > > the Alice books well. If his attention was drawn to The
> > > Annotated Alice in 1960, it's possible that Nabokov read
> > > some of Gardner's voluminous popular writings on math,
> > > puzzles, codes and the like while he was composing Pale Fire.
> > >
> > > Mary
> > >
> > >
> > > "D. Barton Johnson" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: "Carolyn Kunin" <chaiselongue@earthlink.net>
> > > > To: "Vladimir Nabokov Forum" <NABOKV-L@listserv.ucsb.edu>
> > > > Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2003 9:36 AM
> > > > Subject: IPH solution?
> > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (15
> > > > lines) ------------------
> > > > > To the List,
> > > > >
> > > > > I am reading a dreadful novel currently being pushed even on NPR
> >called
> > > > "The
> > > > > Da Vinci Code." The usual shlock-thriller with an intriguing twist
for
> > > > > Nabokovians -- lots of information on de-coding (I did not know,
for
> > > > > example, that anagrams were ever considered sacred, which the
author
> > > > > claims).
> > > > >
> > > > > There is quite a bit about the golden mean and the Fibonacci
numbers,
> >and
> > > > by
> > > > > chance, instead of writing the ratio 1.0821 (or whatever it is) as
the
> > > > Greek
> > > > > letter Phi (as in Phi Beta Kappa), it is written PHI.
> > > > >
> > > > > I wonder iph ...
> > > > >
> > > > > Carolyn
> > > > ------------------------------
> > > > EDNOTE. "PHI" (Fie) is not a bad response to Shade's "IPH"
(Institute of
> > > > Preparation for the Hereafter."
>
>