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Tao of Chaos: Merging East and West
In this exciting study, Katya Walter investigates the similarities between China's I Ching and the genetic code, and concludes that the I Ching preceded Leibnitz binary code by more than 3,000 years. The same structure scientists have found in DNA also exists in this ancient book of wisdom as well as in spiders' webs, sunflowers, and antique Indian rugs. This, says Dr. Walter, is evidence of a Master Plan in which God is the all-encompassing pattern present in all life. Using Chaos Theory as the basis for her revolutionary ideas, she shows how we create order in our own minds and reveals the fundamental order of the universe.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 9, 2015
I read this book years ago and it blew me away. I'm surprised that it never achieved the success of other similar-minded books such as the The Tao of Physics by Capra or Fingerprints of the Gods by Hancock. Perhaps the times have to be right. Anyway, Ms Walter put forward a thesis that the 64 hexagrams of the I-Ching and the 64 codons of the genetic code of DNA are profoundly structurally inter-related. The sub-title of the book is "DNA and the I Ching: unlocking the code of the universe". It's absolutely fascinating from beginning to end, and ultimately persuasive. Something is going on here! My one criticism would be the folksy, chatty style of the book; a more serious tone would have helped, and perhaps would have made the book more successful. Anyway, I definitely plan to re-read my copy sometime. Highly recommended!
February 20, 2008
Scientist/Mathematician Katya Walter explores the astounding direct corellation between the 64 hexagrams of the I-Ching, the 64 codons of the DNA genetic code, the Ho-Tu/Lo-Shu diagrams, and how it all ties into fractal geometry.
June 9, 2023
With apologies to the author, so much of this book reads like an incoherent rant lifted from the small print of a bottle of Dr. Bronner's soap that it almost defies the reader to keep going. There are probably interesting ideas in here, but if so they are hidden in page after page of digressions, nonstandard vocabulary, unclear writing, thin argumentation, and outright mistakes that make it difficult for me to even summarize what the book is about.
Particularly problematic is that it gets certain basic scientific and mathematical facts wrong. (The mathematical constant π is not equal to 22/7, for example, and the rational number 22/7 is definitely not an irrational number that goes on forever without repeating its pattern [pp. 36–37].) It also repeats long-debunked myths, such as the story that Einstein flunked basic math early in his schooling [p. 144]. This is lazy scholarship that makes the author's more sophisticated claims deeply suspect.
The book's central thesis seems to be that DNA and the Chinese divinatory I Ching are fundamentally connected. The author creates a correspondence between DNA codons and I Ching hexagrams by observing that there are 64 of them in both cases. By exchanging one set of symbols for another, she then treats them as though they are essentially the same thing, ipso facto. I must confess that at this point in the book, I gave up on trying to read it in detail, choosing instead to skim through what was left to see if it got any more coherent. I didn't see any evidence in that direction, but it's possible that I missed the argument that cogently ties it all together. I somehow doubt it.
Particularly problematic is that it gets certain basic scientific and mathematical facts wrong. (The mathematical constant π is not equal to 22/7, for example, and the rational number 22/7 is definitely not an irrational number that goes on forever without repeating its pattern [pp. 36–37].) It also repeats long-debunked myths, such as the story that Einstein flunked basic math early in his schooling [p. 144]. This is lazy scholarship that makes the author's more sophisticated claims deeply suspect.
The book's central thesis seems to be that DNA and the Chinese divinatory I Ching are fundamentally connected. The author creates a correspondence between DNA codons and I Ching hexagrams by observing that there are 64 of them in both cases. By exchanging one set of symbols for another, she then treats them as though they are essentially the same thing, ipso facto. I must confess that at this point in the book, I gave up on trying to read it in detail, choosing instead to skim through what was left to see if it got any more coherent. I didn't see any evidence in that direction, but it's possible that I missed the argument that cogently ties it all together. I somehow doubt it.
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January 13, 2023I love this book
read it 20 years ago and was very important in my journey
read it 20 years ago and was very important in my journey
August 14, 2014
This book was terrible. I didn't finish it. Way too much fluff, not enough science.
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November 13, 2008GOOD BOOK JUST READ THE FUCKIN THING IT KEEP YOU BUSY IT EXPLAINS ALOT OF MY ART AND MY MILITARY TACTICS
June 15, 2012
Really enjoying this book! it got me back to doing the I-Ching (got a cool app for it) and is widening my perspective!
September 12, 2008
China's I Ching and the genetic code, yes the two go hand in hand....
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews