The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge
by Jeremy Narby
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Book Reviews of The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge
Book Review: promising travel and mythology writing, bad science
Summary: 2 Stars
I was disappointed in this book for several reasons.
First, it was classified as "science" when in fact it is a first person narrative of how the author investigated various avenues of mythology, history, biology, and other subjects. A typical chapter describes how, stunned and shaken by the train of thought he has been following, the author intrepidly soldiers on, diving into books and articles and perhaps making a phone call to a writer or scientist friend (many of whom are not mentioned by name).
Second, the author includes a few token quotations from the shamans he holds in such high esteem and claims can communicate directly through DNA - but doesn't take the opportunity to travel to meet them or interview them. That would have been a much more interesting read, from a travel and cultural perspective.
As for his dismissal of modern science and scientists for their narrow-mindedness and materialism, I find it highly suspect that he is perfectly willing to quote scientific studies and principles to justify his points (such as when he describes how DNA replicates or when discussing the molecular structure of various hallucinogens) but shrugs his shoulders at major bodies of scientific thought (mainly evolution) as though those scientists can't possibly know what they're talking about. He reminds me of intelligent design theorists who love to talk about gaps in the fossil record, without a hint of irony that they are dependent on the scientists doing the research for evidence of a fossil record, or gaps in it, to begin with.
Basically, this is a New Agey view of intelligent design. The author can sound like a scientist on occasion, but clearly isn't one. He doesn't seem to know anything about RNA (he calls it "messenger DNA") or plasmids. His theory that all DNA molecules are part of a global web that communicates with and designs itself doesn't make sense when you think about auto-immune disorders, cancers, or even allergies. And he needs to update his textbook about evolution, too, since he puts great stock in objections that have been long since answered.
It's a shame - this could have been a really interesting book, but the writing is too self-absorbed, and the "science" is inaccurate at best and plain wrong at worst.
Book Review: Extremely Thought Provoking!
Summary: 5 Stars
In "The Cosmic Serpent", Jeremy Narby shares both his mental & physical journey concerning shamanism & the biochemical, neurological, and pharmacological information understood by the shamans of various "indigenous" peoples of the Amazon. This is truly an amazing journey!
Through his travels & research, Narby realizes that the Amazon forest can be likened to a huge pharmacy - and that the "natives" would have to have some form of biochemical/neurological/pharmacological knowledge & insight in order to combine & create their various "medicines". But how could they obtain such knowledge without all of the "fancy" scientific tools we have here in "civilization"?
Narby finds his answer after spending time with a well-respected shaman in the Amazon - the knowledge is imparted to them while in a hallucinogenic trance brought on by a brew called ayahuasca, which Narby decides to try for himself, resulting in some really intense insights into mind, body, and soul.
It's the author's hypothesis that shamans, with the aid of ayahuasca, are able to take their consciousness down to the molecular level, which allows them access to biomolecular information. But, because of the scientific tendancy toward rationalism, no research is considered to understand this further.
One of the most interesting parts of this book for me was the discussion concerning DNA & its' possible link to the double serpents/double helix revered in many indigenous societies - are they already aware of what we know about DNA? Could they know even more?
I recently saw a documentary re: an anthropological find where several statues were found that showed 2 serpents. From these statues, the scientists determined that this ancient civilization worshipped a snake or serpent God. After reading this book, I had to wonder if maybe they're wrong...
Overall, I found this to be an interesting, thought provoking, page-turning read. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in spirituality, shamanism, anthropology, & the biological sciences - it has a lot to offer!
Book Review: A neat mythology
Summary: 3 Stars
"Chariots of the Gods" meets "What the Bleep?" with a dash of Creationism. Know that that's what coming, and it makes a good read.
As metaphor and myth, the DNA-serpent connection is intriguing and powerful, much like the entirely philosophical ruminations of the ancient Greeks that have informed modern physical science via concepts like the "atom." And it's always interesting to poke around the dark areas that science hasn't fully charted - the mysteries of hallucinogens and the sources of indigenous knowledge being ripe territory.
But when he ventures out of his self-described area of expertise, anthropology, his ideas become as shaky as they are engaging. His experience of hallucinating two giant, "fluorescent" snakes that communicated how to relieve the physical side-effects of the drugs is an interesting story in and of itself; saying that this was literally a perception of photon-emitting DNA crystals is an unsteady plunge into pseudo-science. It would make a fun basis for sci-fi storytelling - in fact, Alan Moore used ideas from this book (among many, many others) in his "Promethea" comic - and I recommend readers view it entirely as such.
To be fair, Narby does seem to admit the flaws of his presentation and gaps of knowledge. To me, by the end it reads more like a call to action than a treatise, a plea to other scientists to put his ideas and their implications to real tests rather than dismissing them out of hand. He especially wants to see epistemological barriers fall so that things like the physics of hallucination and the process of apparently-non-scientific knowledge-acquisition can be investigated with all the rigor and depth of any other field of inquiry.
I would be intrigued to see if any researchers have taken up his challenge in the 10+ years since the book was published, but until hard science has said anything about it, this remains simply an engaging myth for modern imaginations.
Book Review: How to Make Sense of Delusions and Hallucinations
Summary: 2 Stars
How do we make sense of the "delusions" and "hallucinations" that are the result of consuming "plant based" psychoactive poisons. According to the author, Amazonian shamans experiencing such hallucinations are communicating with DNA itself and from this are able acquire all sorts of useful knowledge. After the author drank ayahuasca he hallucinated and saw a couple of large, bright, frightening snakes. He makes a lot out of this, as well as the common presence of serpents in the mythologies of different cultures (resembles DNA!).
The author's enthusiasm for his own theory and hypotheses is not matched by careful consideration of mundane theories that do not upset the apple cart.
Many scholars have argued that snakes were a significant predator in primate (mammalian) evolution and that humans have an instinctive aversion to snakes. This would make them, culturally, an ideal symbol of both fear and of power based upon fear. Snakes are feared generally, and not as the author argues, just for their venom. So it is easy to envision that pychoactive chemicals might shut down or activate various parts of the brain that control this instinct.
What's wrong with the simple idea that delusions and hallucinations are indications of a brain misfiring, something that would seem likely to happen if you consumed plant based psychoactive poisons. It's a bit much to expect the neurosciences to come up with explanations of singularities (a single or even a few hallucinations). Commonly occurring regularities presumably can be studied scientifically, something that the author recommends be done, but at what harm to the subjects of the experiments?
Are hallucinations induced by plant based poisons the dreams or nightmares experienced by our evolutionary ancestors?
Book Review: Extremely interesting
Summary: 4 Stars
I've always been interested in science, religion, and ancient cultures as well as neurology and the general workings of nature. Recently I've been doing a lot of research on the pineal gland, DMT, enlightenment, and Mayan/Aztec culture. A friend gave me this book with a little note that said "food for thought" and he was dead on. I was very surprised to see the majority of the above mentioned subjects discussed in a cohesive, plausible, and interesting way in this book. Narby has some outstanding ideas that lead to many unanswered questions (some of which we will probably never know the answers to) and I thoroughly enjoyed the read. Yea, he's not the best author in the world, but he does a good job and I didn't find myself bored at any point. I wish he'd gone into further detail describing his and others' hallucinogenic experiences and I honestly can't believe that he didn't go for a second try. If I had the chance to experience DMT in it's natural setting like he did, I'd definitely do it as many times as I could. That's beside the point, though. This is a very easy read. I sat down today and read the whole book in one sitting. The bulk of it is only 162 pages, but Narby provides a wealth of references to continue your search if you so desire. About half of the pages are reference materials to further your studies of any of the subjects you find in the book. I'm impressed with his theory and I hope he's right. I'm not sure if it changes anything for us at this stage, but it's a very powerful idea that has life changing potential. I recommend the read, even if you aren't into this sort of thing, just to get your brain working on something you probably wouldn't have thought of otherwise.