The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True [Hardcover]

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"The truth is more magical--on the best and most exciting sense of the word--than any myth or made-up mystery or miracle. Science has its own magic: the magic of REALITY."

The above extract comes at the very end of this extraordinary book by Richard Dawkins with illustrations by Dave McKean. Dawkins is a British ethologist (the scientific study of animal behaviour), evolutionary biologist and author. He is emeritus fellow of New College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the UK and was this university's Professor for the Public Understanding of Science from 1995 to 2008. McKean has illustrated and designed many award-winning books and graphic novels.

The chapters of this book are titled by a question like "What is the sun?" or "Why are there so many different kinds of animals?" Most chapters usually begin with some mythical answers to a chapter title question. (Amazingly, many people today believe these mythical answers.) Then a scientific or reality-based answer to the question is provided.

Who can read this book? Anyone aged 120 to 12 (including those adults who still think like children). For those with a solid science background, this book can be regarded as a good review of important concepts.

The myths chosen for this book are from around the world such as Babylonian, Judeo-Christian, Aztec, Maori, Aboriginal, Nordic, Hellenic, Chinese, and Japanese. One chapter includes modern alien abduction mythology and another chapter omits mythology altogether (there is a reason for this omission and Dawkins explains why).

Dawkins details these topics (even though he doesn't use many of these terms):

(1) evolution
(2) speciation (evolutionary process by which new biological species arise)
(3) atomic theory (concerned with the nature of matter)
(4) optics
(5) planetary motion
(6) gravitation (or gravity)
(7) stellar evolution (or star evolution)
(8) spectroscopy (study of the interaction between matter and radiation such as visible light)
(9) plate tectonics (describes the large scale motion of Earth's outermost rocky layer)
(10) speculation on exobiology (life beyond Earth)
(11) Chaos theory ("Why do bad things happen?")
(12) Human psychology ("What is a miracle?")

All the science in this book is well-presented. It has to be since it has to appeal to a wide age-range of people (as indicated above).

Finally, all the illustrations in this book are in a word--fantastic. They add to its enjoyment.

In conclusion, this book is truly a myth-believers nightmare. Make no myth-stake about it, this is a good book. I leave you with a key concept from this book:

"Next to the true beauty and magic of the real world, supernatural spells and stage tricks seem cheap and tawdry by comparison. The magic of reality is neither supernatural nor a trick, but--quite simply--wonderful. Wonderful and real. Wonderful BECAUSE real."

(first published 2011; 12 chapters; main narrative 265 pages; index; acknowledgements; picture credits)

<<Stephen Pletko, London, Ontario, Canada>>

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This book really is an introduction to the world of science, and how science answers questions that were previously answered using magical or supernatural explanations. Like a US reviewer said, when I was younger, I believed in supernatural explanations and phenomena. As a curious lad, I was eager to soak up any information that I could, and some of those explanations sounded pretty plausible. The only problem (and it was a big one) was that I didn't have a gauge for how reliable one explanation was compared to another.

Metaphorically, neither did humanity until science came around. In both cases (mine and humanity's), science provided the tool for which to measure how reliable an explanation was in relation to another. How to compare two otherwise equal explanations based on explanatory and predictive power based on reliable data. This book pits common stories of creation and causation on a whole rage of topics, from the origins of species, to what we are made of, to the cycles of seasons and day/night. Most of the chapters start off with a "magical" explanation that is based on religion. All religions are represented here, including ancient and/or tribal religions. The book then moves on to explaining the phenomenon in question using simple, logical science.

I've rated this book five stars, but for two important audiences, it won't be.

First, for experienced scientists or science readers, this book will be pretty low-level. It's aimed at people who aren't familiar with science and its explanations (e.g., Dawkins cites ~20% of Europeans don't know how long it takes us to orbit the sun, and why- this is the book for them). It would also work well for younger readers. I can see ages 12+ absorbing this book quite well. In fact, that's around the time it would probably be most helpful (12-14), as it outlines how science works and why its explanations are superior to those of magical or supernatural causes. I enjoyed reading the book myself, but found very little of it new. Still, I'm glad that I have it as a reference for kids and adults who aren't as familiar with the science presented in this book.

Second, this book will not be very popular with devoutly religious people. Dawkins once more takes square aim at the major religions, pointing out how unlikely some of their "stories" are. In particular, the last chapter is a chapter on miracles, where Dawkins adopts Hume's stance on miracles. They are likely to be true if the alternate explanation (that they aren't true, that say, 500K people mass hallucinated someone parting the water of San Francisco Bay) is more likely to be false than the miraculous explanation. Of course, there are no such examples, leading Dawkins to claim that miracles are very likely false. In an important way, I agree strongly with the point he is trying to make. In essence, coincidences that seem miraculous (e.g., dreaming of an uncle the day that uncle dies) are really just the product of odds we're not good at calculating, recognizing, or even understanding. That's a good point, and well worth making. But I think he could have done more by directly challenging some kinds of magical explanations (e.g., psychic powers) more directly, including evidence from neuroscience. Instead, his choice of attacking religious stories represents a confrontational choice of topic that is going to drive some people away from this book. I don't disagree with the need and value of challenging any belief, but I think that some of the people who could most benefit from this book will simply be turned off by it. I hope they aren't, but I'm guessing they will be.

Which is too bad. Because, as Dawkins says, there is a certain poetic magic to reality once you understand it more. From the immense size of the universe to the evolution of minute structures, I've certainly found that scientific, reality-based explanations are every bit as majestic, awesome, and satisfying as magical or supernatural explanations ever could be. Science really is far and away the best tool for understanding the universe around us, and ourselves in it. Science really is an almost magical invention (in the poetic and metaphoric sense) that has allowed us to discover and explain things not only beyond what we thought possible, but also beyond what we ever imagined existed! If that's not magic enough for you, I don't know what could be! Magic and myths might be cool, but the reality of universe is even cooler.

We enjoyed the 6 disc audio book, though if not for my 10 year old son enjoying it, I would not have continued listening. The presentation is aimed at children, or adults suffering from a severe lack of science in their lives, perhaps recovering from religious indoctrination.

Also the book would cause offence to religious parents, so although it would be excellent for all children, I fear it won't reach the children who will need it most, those being raised on religious explanations and the bible. It is however, wonderfully suited for atheist homes.

I feel it is suited as soon as the child begins to ask the big questions such as "where do we come from?" age 5 or 6 in small segments, larger segments for older children. It would also be wonderful to help dispell the fears small children have about things they don't understand. It would suit up to age 12 or 13. Though as a family, we all enjoyed it, especially the segment about your millionth great grandfather the fish, and the detailed explanations of evolution, using time travel, and a ginormous stack of photos, as devices to help get across the vast distances of time. It was amusing and entertaining, though it was almost entirely information I am already familiar with.

Dawkins' rich, eloquent voice delivers the material clearly and concisely, though his irritation at certain issues of religion are not masked, which takes the book beyond the traditional science of the 70's and 80's into neo-atheist teritory; science with an agenda.

He refers to Jesus, Mary, God and biblical stories as one of many world mythologies, right alongside myths of the Maya, Navaho, Norse, Indian, and others stressing how many people today still believe these myths to be true, shock horror!

My son greatly enjoyed it, even regularily asking for another installment.