So because we almost got lost in a world of fiction last time, I have decided to right the ship and bring us back to reality and jump into a subject that I personally find intensely interesting. I have chosen The Code Book written by Simon Singh. This is a book based entirely around the science of cryptography and takes you on a journey from ancient Egypt, to the modern world where we are immersed in Internet encryption. You can find this book on Amazon here http://www.amazon.com/Code-Book-Science-Secrecy-Cryptography/dp/0385495323/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1297187656&sr=1-1.
So despite the fact that reviews are supposed to be completely unbiased. I don't care, this is my blog and I will be as gosh darn biased as I so choose and there is nothing you can do about it. So this book is largely about Math and the science of cryptography, does that mean that I will automatically love it? @#$% yes it does. So if you were ever curious about writing secret messages and what role this fine art has played throughout history, then this book is right up your alley. Have you ever heard of Mary, Queen of Scots? I am sure you have but did you know that she died because of the failure of her cipher and the breakthroughs of code beakers? I bet you didn't! How about the immensely huge role that cryptography played in the two most massive military battles waged on our planet? I mean the intelligent person would always assume that secret messages would have to have been encrypted and passed between high ranking members of the army during those times, but the sheer amount of effort that was put into mastering the art of code breaking is truly breath taking. While most of the young men were off fighting equally important military campaigns, there was a huge intellectual battle engaged between the allies and their respective enemies. It is just awesome for a nerd such as myself to see that these battles were equally as important and that science and technology has played such a huge role for millenia. Singh does a very comprehensive overview of every major cryptological battle between the code makers and breakers since the dawn of the science itself in ancient Egypt. He even has a chapter dedicated to an unsolved code that teases the reader with a grandiose story of gold and riches buried somewhere in the southern United States. Again only a basic understanding of math is required to truly appreciate this book. I know all of you were forced to take Math 10 in high school, so there is no excuse, you are able to do algebra and thus can read and understand this book also!!! At the end of the book he even dives into what an integral role in ALL of our lives encryption and this art has become. I try to tell people all the time that math is the most important subject in every ones lives but usually I just get laughs and giggles. Assholes, but Singh truly shows you how important these things are in the everyday lives of people just like you.
To summarize: Are secret codes cool? Yes. Should you read this so we can pass super awesome secret notes to each other? Yes. Does reading this book make you smarter than your friends? Yes. Finally, does math rule the world? @#@$ YES! Everyone go out and read this book, it will open your eyes to truly tantalizing art form and give you perspective on your world and the things you take for granted.
So now that I have reviewed the first 4 books that I have read this year, I must get back to reading as I have fallen slightly behind my one book per week deadline. Although the next book I chose isn't very long, so hopefully with any luck you will not have to wait long for my truly on the edge of your seat review of it.
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