Holding doctorates in chemistry, physics and biology, Peter Plichta applies his multifaceted scientific knowledge to the search for a universal building plan and makes a profound discovery. Plichta shows how a mathematical formula based on prime numbers underlies the mystery of the world. By decoding this fundamental numerical code, Plichta answers questions that have baffled mankind for ages and proves that the universe did not arise out of chance.
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This will appeal to any intellectual interested in science and religion: it challenges current scientific thought by decoding a numerical code based on prime numbers which reveal and explain natural laws. The blend of science and religious insight here will please any who want an alternative to traditional approaches. -- Midwest Book Review
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A study in Pythagoreanism,
By U Dream (Colton, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God's Secret Formula: Deciphering the Riddle of the Universe and the Prime Number Code (Hardcover)
Putting aside Plichta's self-congratulatory style, he does make some interesting points. I liked his discussion of the hemoglobin molecule as a quadrapole magnet (p. 97), and chapter 16, on fractals, chaos, and reciprocal geometry. Plichta's main claim to fame is his discovery of the prime number cross, which is simply a consequence of arranging number in a rings (or shells) of 24 divisions. (The formula 6n (+ or -) 1 that generates the prime numbers above 3 obviously means that they can be derived from multiples of 6 by either adding or subtracting 1. And 24 divided by 6 is 4, so you have the 4 main arms of the cross. The arms are doubled because some numbers are derived by adding 1, as in (6 x 1) + 1 = 7, or by subtracting 1, as in (6 x 1) - 1 = 5). Had Plichta chosen a different number of divisions in his rings (other than 24), then the 4 armed cross would not appear. Arranging data in novel fashions can sometimes lead to new understandings, but I personally don't see anything revolutionary. The cross has two exemptions, the prime numbers 2 & 3 which do not fall on any of the arms. Plichta fudges on this one, and tries to devalue their status as primes. In other ways he elevates the number 3, along with 24, 81, (19 + 1), etc. finding examples everywhere in biology, chemistry,etc. Much of the early part of the book is exploring the "preponderance of threesomes" in science and all aspects of life. He even treats the speed of light as 3 x 100,000 km per second even thought he concedes that it is not exactly, but almost 3. Being a chemist, he should know that while the discovery of elemental triads was initially helpful in grouping elements together according to similar characteristics and multiples of atomic weights, the devotion to threes became a stumbling block to including more members into the same group (comprising the vertical columns of the modern periodic table. All too often, Plichta seems to fudge the facts to fit the numbers--a true Pythagorean. In this regard, he is reminiscent of 19th century scientist, Gustavus Hinrichs, one of the early discoverers of the periodic system of elements (prior to Mendeleev). Hinrich correlated the sizes of the planetary orbits (which produced a series of whole number ratios, the differences among them being multiples of 20) to ratios of atomic spectral line differences and thus atomic dimensions of various elements. He constructed a spiral periodic system with 11 spokes radiating from the center, with the chemical groups lying along the spokes. Whether or not Plichta's prime number cross will similarly advance scientific knowledge remains to be seen.
One of the key chapters seems to be chapter 13, The Law of Empty Space. The sum of the numbers that make up each concentric ring form prime multiples of 300: first ring 1 x 300, second ring 3 x 300, third 5 x 300, and so on. This kind of number play is reminiscent of magic squares and number games. Plichta's main assertion is that the structure of empty space is number: The atomic nucleus is the centre of the Prime Number Cross. (p. 157) And space is arranged around this point in the form of shells. The four prime number twins (primes that flank a non-prime)of the first shell determine the structure of all further shells. Plichta is excluding 3 which also forms a twin: 3 & 5. 3 also is right next to another prime 2 as is the first positive prime 1. So 1 and 3 are unique among the prime number twins, 2 being the only prime flanked by primes. But this doesn't fit his cross structure, so fudge factor glosses over this. Once you acknowledge these discrepancies, you can appreciate the correspondences that Plichta does make. The idea of "prime number space" as four-dimensional space is interesting, but an artifact of the right-angled space mirror imaging. Other critical reviews focused on Plichta's inept mathematics. One review incorrectly charged Plichta with claiming 25 was a prime number (p. 117). A careful reading will reveal that the statement, "The prime number 25 is above the prime number 5," is a typographical error. The figure 2 shows 29 above 5 and 25 above 1, so the text should have said, "The prime number 29 is above the prime number 5." There are 3 other typos: page 119, third line from the bottom: "number 0 also happened to be occupied by the number 23." The O should be replaced by -1. On page 129, the proportional symbol ~ is missing between E2 and 1/time squared2 at the bottom of the page. On page 196, the 5th line of Pascal's Triangle shows after the -> 14631 and should show 14641. I tend to agree with one reviewer who criticized Plichta for "seeing patterns everywhere and in everything when they have no real significance." Significance was made of multi-scale isomorphisms in our pre-scientific past. It was called the hermetic principal of alchemy: "As above, so below." Their numerical significance was celebrated among the Pythagoreans of ancient Greece and have persisted today in NewAge numerology & astrology. A similar study in isomorphic meaning making can be found in Jose Arguelles' Earth Ascending, where the 64 hexagrams of the I-Ching are linked to the 64 codons of DNA and the numerical patterns of the Ben Franklin Square. For Arguelles, the key to the universe is the binary triplet code, inherent in the Mayan Tzolkin, I-Ching trigrams, and DNA codons. For Plichta, it is the prime number cross. Interestingly, neither Arguelles or Plichta ever mentions the golden ratio and equiangular spiral that was regarded as sacred geometry (the Divine proportion) by the Pythagoreans. If anything deserves the title of "God's secret Formula," then it is the golden ratio. Seeing numbers everywhere can indeed be delusional as the films "A Beautiful Mind" and "23" aptly depict. One thing both positive and negative reviews indicate about Plichta's book: it is certainly stimulating and provocative. I found it worth the read, even though I disagreed with his conclusions. Read it yourself and you decide.
20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not so special "prime number cross",
By A Customer
This review is from: God's Secret Formula: Deciphering the Riddle of the Universe and the Prime Number Code (Hardcover)
Another self proclaimed "genius" spouting off gradeschool math and not educated enough to realize how incredibly simple his "discovery" is. OF COURSE EVERY PRIME NUMBER IS OF THE FORM 6n +/- 1! Every number in general is of the form 6n-3, 6n-2, 6n-1, 6n, 6n+1, 6n+2. Since 6n-3=3*(2n-1) it's not prime. 6n-2 and 6n+2 are both divisible by 2 and 6n is divisible by 6. What's left? 6n +/- 1. Wow. Big surprise. Plichta's mistaken belief that he is somehow the "discoverer" of this "revelation" just shows how little he understands of math. He also makes the claim that defining 2 as the only "odd prime" is some sort of mistaken exception. This is no less wrongheaded than his 6n +/- 1 "discovery". Guess what? In the same way that 2 is the only even prime (which means "divisible by 2"), 3 is the only prime divisible by 3. 17 is the only prime divisible by 17. Every prime is no more nor less an "exception" in this sense than 2 is. The only difference is that the english language has assigned a name to the concept of "divisibility by 2" - namely, "even". Had we called all numbers divisible by 3 "triune" numbers then we would all be surprised that 3 is the only "triune" number. Mathematical exceptions based on the vagaries of the language like Plichta's are not exceptions at all. Once again, Plichta's failure to grasp this marks him as a mathemetician of the lowest caliber. His views are not "controversial" as he would like us to believe. They are merely irrelevant, trite and misguided to anyone but the mathematically gullible.
16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding discoveries,Excellent book,
By A Customer
This review is from: God's Secret Formula: Deciphering the Riddle of the Universe and the Prime Number Code (Hardcover)
This book by Dr. Plichta is the wave of the future presented today. Scientists are finding about God more than they ever did in the past. "God is back" as this book declares. It is a combination of biography and scientific findings narrated in a fiction like text. The scientists will find it too simplified and the ordinary reader will find it too complicated unless he/she has a good background in Chemistry and Mathematics. Dr. Plichta 's findings in this book and his others confirm what has been already discovered about 19 years before him. In the book, "The Authorized English translation of the Quran" by Dr. Khalifa, from Amazon.com , the author made the same conclusion that Dr. Plichta discovered 19 years later. Specifically appendix 38 declares that number 19 is the signature of the Creator. It goes into the details of the mathematical miracle of the Quran that is built on number 19. Dr. Plichta in this book concludes that our universe is built on primary numbers with number 19 being the king of these primary numbers. As chemistry-student, he had noticed that each earthly life is built on 19 left-built amino acids, just as the Hamlet Shakespeare is composed also from only nineteen consonants. Then the scientist found out that from 81 natural occurring stable elements of the chemistry, nineteen are pure isotopes. He found out that the number of the double isotopes is also 19. There are further thirty-eight or 2 x 19 elements with even atomic numbers, which are multiple-isotopes with the isotope numbers 3,4,5 .... Dr. Plichta presents a wide variety of his discoveries and findings in an interesting fashion. He tried to get down to "God's Secret Formula". He believes he found it. The book however could have been presented in a more scientific format and down to the point. The details of the life of Dr. Plichta that was forced on the reader in many chapters were unnecessary and actually took away some of the value of this book. In general the book is very interesting and worth the time and money.
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