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Da Vinci Code Message Revealed

Ironsides writes "The message embedded in the Da Vinci Code ruling earlier this week has been cracked. The message reads 'Smithy Code Jackie Fisher who are you Dreadnought' and is a reference to an event from about 100 years ago. The encryption scheme itself was based on the Fibonacci number Sequence which is the same one used in the novel."

11 of 96 comments (clear)

  1. And then... by gowen · · Score: 5, Funny
    The encryption scheme itself was based on the Fibonacci number Sequence which is the same one used in the novel
    At which point Dan Brown announced his intention to sue the judge for copyright infringement.

    "I'm the only one allowed to endlessly recycle the plot of 'The DaVinci Code' into other works", said Brown.
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  2. "An event"? by stjobe · · Score: 4, Informative
    From TFA:
    The judge admires Admiral Jackie Fisher, who developed battleship HMS Dreadnought, which launched in February 1906, 100 years before the case began.

    In a statement, Mr Justice Smith said: "The message reveals a significant, but now overlooked event that occurred virtually 100 years to the day of the start of the trial."
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  3. Re:it's good to see by ComaVN · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You might need to lighten up. Not everything anyone ever does needs to be 100% productive to society, you know. Posting on slashdot comes to mind.

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  4. Yeah yeah, very clever... by j.a.mcguire · · Score: 5, Funny

    das dratsab srehpargotpyrc og emoh!

  5. Re:again, again! by VanillaBabies · · Score: 4, Funny

    Not sure about you, but i already need a crack team of lawyers and interpreters to know what most legislation and court rulings mean. Lets keep the codes to a minimum.

  6. An event indeed. by Gorath99 · · Score: 4, Informative

    "John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, RN (January 25, 1841 - July 10, 1920), commonly known as "Jackie" Fisher, was a British admiral known for his efforts at naval reform. He had a huge influence on the Royal Navy in a career spanning more than 60 years, starting in a navy of wooden sailing ships armed with muzzle-loading cannon and ending in one of battlecruisers, submarines and the first aircraft carriers. The argumentative, energetic, reform-minded Fisher is often considered the second most important figure of British naval history, after Lord Nelson."

    "The sixth HMS Dreadnought of the British Royal Navy was the first battleship to have a uniform main battery, rather than having a secondary battery of smaller guns. She was also the first large warship to be powered by steam turbines, making her the fastest warship of her size. So advanced was Dreadnought that her name became a generic term for modern battleships, whilst the ships she made obsolete were known as "pre-dreadnoughts". Her introduction helped spark off a major naval arms race as navies around the world rushed to match her, particularly the Germans in the build up to the First World War."

    Taken from wikipedia.

  7. Article Devoid of Facts by zaguar · · Score: 5, Informative

    The article failed to mention how he solved it. It was a Polyalphabetic Cipher with the key being the Fibonnaci sequence. For those who want to crack it, the sequence of numbers for the key is 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34 etc, in recursive form: T(n+1)=T(n)+T(n-1)

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  8. Re:again, again! by NoTheory · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Actually, judges in the US insert all sorts of stuff into their rulings depending on how bored/pissed off they are at a particular case, lawyer, etc.

    Exhibit 1.

    Other examples include rulings written entirely in rhyming couplets, and more. Apparently Law Schools test their n00b students' ability to research cases by asking they dig up such arcane trivia.

    IANAL but I know a number of law students.

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  9. Re:ummm... by SachiCALaw · · Score: 4, Informative

    I am a lawyer, and to put it succinctly, no, being a fan of the book would not be grounds for reversal. Judges cannot have financial interests in cases, and should not have personal entanglements with parties, but reading a party's book is not such a personal entanglement that would be ground for reversal.

  10. Re:Time well spent by SachiCALaw · · Score: 3, Insightful

    EVERY workplace is improved by a bit of light-heartedness, including courts. I've appeared in court many times, and things definitely work much more smoothly (and faster!) in courtrooms where the judges and court officials are open to a bit of humor. Think of your own jobs - don't you get more done, overall, in jobs when you can have a bit of fun in contrast to those where you are tied to a grumpy ball and chain?

  11. How Ben Hoyle cracked the code by frank249 · · Score: 3, Interesting
    One of the facts that the linked article failed to mention is that it was Ben Hoyle, a reporter for the Times, that cracked the code. His personal account of how he did it is here. He admits that he had a couple broad hints from the judge and the help of Ray Keene, The Times Chess Correspondent.

    As for Jackie Fisher, I like Al Stewart's song Old Admirals that is based on his life. While he did some great things, he should not have been recalled as First Lord of the Admiralty. He opposed Churchill's plan for Gallipoli. Although the operation went forward, it was Fisher's refusal to fully support the operation with enough ships and shells that lead to its failure and the death of thousands of Anzacs.

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