The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon, #6)

by Dan Brown

“Simply stated,” Katherine began, “noetic science is the study of human consciousness. Contrary to what many believe, consciousness research is not a new science—it is, in fact, the oldest science on earth. Since the dawn of history, we have sought answers to the enduring mysteries of the human mind…the nature of consciousness and of the soul. And for centuries, we have explored these questions primarily through…the lens of religion.”

For as long as humans had been keeping track of the past, they had longed to see the future.

Social media, Dana thought. The biggest intelligence boon since the Catholic Church invented confession.

“Let’s face it—the human mind hates change,” she had said yesterday while sipping espresso at the stylish La Boheme Café. “And the mind despises abandoning existing beliefs.” Langdon smiled. That’s why religions endure for millennia despite mountains of evidence contradicting their beliefs.

“And stodgy academics have a tendency to cling to the comfort of their existing beliefs long after their models are clearly obsolete. For this reason, establishing a new scientific paradigm—like that of human consciousness—becomes an exceptionally frustrating and slow process.”

Timor mortis est pater religionis, Langdon mused, recalling the ancient saying made famous by Upton Sinclair. Fear of death is the father of religion.

What happens when we die? The question was, without compare, the greatest mystery of life…the secret we all longed to know. Ironically, the elusive answer was revealed to each of us eventually…but with no way back to share it.

just because we can’t imagine how something could possibly be true, doesn’t mean we can’t observe it to be true. The ancient Greeks proclaimed the earth was round nearly two millennia before Newton explained exactly how the oceans stayed in place thanks to gravity.”

We proclaim the Truth that serves our needs.

The only religions that survived were those offering a solution to humankind’s greatest fear.