The Magic Of Reality

 

This is the title of Richard Dawkins’ latest book. It is written for younger readers and it seems he had made an effort to avoid any scientific terms or equations or explanations which would only be understood by experts. Considering its simplicity in language and explanation of phenomena, this book makes a good read for a lay person who enjoys learning facts of life from a scientific point of view and without any Hocus Pokus! The book begins with a definition of, and a comparison between, reality and magic. As one enjoys myths, its power is explained and advised at the same time not to confuse myths with scientific facts. Different ways to distinguish the difference between myths and realities are clarified next. Each chapter discusses a set of scientific findings about certain subject. Most chapters start with some mythological stories related to the subject. What Dawkins is trying to do in this book is to put realities and myths side by side and let the reader decide which one is more enchanting, with the obvious conclusion made at the end of the chapter in support of the former.

 

The title of each chapter is a burning question that various religions have tried to answer. After discussing reality and magic, the question of “who was the first person” is responded, again according to myths, and then, scientific knowledge. Considering that scientific terms are not used, every chapter is written in a way that sounds effortless and delightful to read. In the process, readers discover many scientific facts and figures about the nature and the universe one lives on, such as the reason for the variation of animals, which is the subject of the next chapter in question form. Some facts from page 72 of the are as follows: 

• About 185 million years ago, mammals’ line was separated from common ancestors. 
• Surviving descendants of mammals include; 231 species of carnivorous, 2,000 species of rodents, 88 species of whales and dolphins, 196 species of cloven-hoofed animals, 87 species of rabbits and hares, 977 species of bats, 68 species of kangaroos, 18 species of apes (including humans). 
• The common ancestor of humans and apes go back to six million years ago, in Africa in Great Rift Valley.

One of the most intriguing chapters of the book is titled: “What are things made of?” Considering that our senses are limited, there are many objects and materials that we are unable to detect without an aid. For example, we cannot see viruses and bacteria and atoms and dust mites: “Dust mites are distantly related to spiders but too small to see except as tiny specks.” (P.96) In this chapter, Dawkins talks about molecules and different forms of materials, liquid, solid and gas. Then, he discusses atoms and its components such as electrons and neutrons. The author writes about all these scientific subjects in such language that anyone with no prior knowledge, or even interest in science, can easily comprehend and enjoy. After we learn and revel in all these scientific facts, it is summed up at the end of the chapter: “The whole world is made of incredibly tiny things, much too small to be visible to the naked eye- and yet none of the myths or so-called holy books that some people, even now, think were given to us by an all-knowing god, mentions them at all! In fact, when you look at those myths and stories, you can see that they don’t contain any of the knowledge that science has patiently worked out. They don’t tell us how big or how old the universe is; they don’t tell us how to treat cancer; they don’t explain gravity or the internal combustion engine; they don’t tell us about germs, or nuclear fusion, or electricity, or anaesthetics. In fact, unsurprisingly, the stories in holy books don’t contain any more information about the world than was known to the primitive peoples who first started telling them! If these ‘holy books’ really were written, or dictated, or inspired, by all-knowing gods, don’t you think it’s odd that those gods said nothing about any of these important and useful things? ” (P.96) Of course supporters of various religions respond to the questions raised by Dawkins that ‘god has given people the will to find everything on their own and create the world the way they see suitable to live in’. This response reminds one of the ‘ant farms’! If we ask these people what purpose god has in creating a world and giving people free will to do whatever they want, whether torturing and murdering each other or destroying the environment, and in spite of that, sending messengers mostly from the Middle East region to tell people what is good for them, the response we may receive is that ‘god works in mysterious ways’ (I wonder how they know this)!

Universe is discussed in the next three chapters; how we have seasons and day and night, and what sun and rainbow are. As in other chapters, he educates the reader with some interesting facts such as; how a planet is formed, earth’s orbit, gravity, birth and death of stars, supernovae and stardust, asteroids and shooting stars, light waves,... The book also talks about other planets in our solar system, the Milky Way, and other stars and universes. We are limited in what we feel, see, hear, smell, and taste. It leads us to think about mysteries of nature and ask ourselves why some people have stronger and some have weaker senses. The interesting thing about evolution is that everything in the universe (or may be multiverse) is unique. May be the person who becomes a good cook is the one with a better sense of taste or smell! The color that one sees may not be the same color as another person observes, they have both learned from birth to call that color green, or red, or whatever the common name is. However, the wavelength of each color can be measured. The book discusses sound and light in detail: “light can be thought of as vibrations: waves. Just as sound is vibrations in the air, light consists of what are called electromagnetic vibrations… There are sounds that are too high-pitched for us to hear. They are called ultrasound; bats can hear them and use the echoes for finding their way around. There are also sounds that are too low for us to hear. They are called infrasound; elephants, whales and some other animals use these deep rumbles for keeping in touch with each other.” (P.157) Some colors are outside of our vision: ”The colour equivalent of ultrasound bat squeaks is ultraviolet, which means ‘beyond violet’. Although we can’t see ultraviolet light, insects can. There are some flowers that have stripes or other patterns for luring insects in to pollinate them, patterns that can only be seen in the ultraviolet range of wavelengths. Insect eyes can see them, but we need instruments to ‘translate’ the patterns into the visible part of the spectrum. For example, the evening primrose flower looks yellow to us, with no pattern, no strips. But if you photograph it in ultraviolet light you suddenly see a starburst of stripes.” (P.157)

Next two chapters are about the Big Bang and possibilities of other intelligence in universe. Explanation of the reason and mechanics of earthquakes occupy a whole chapter. Next chapter touches the sensitive issue of why bad things happen. It is explained from an evolutionary point of view which is much more convincing than any philosophical or religious views. The last chapter delves into the possibility of a miracle. It concludes by repeating the point that was made in the first chapter, however equipped with the knowledge gained throughout the book. The book concludes with the following paragraph: “Miracles, magic and myths – they can be fun, and we have had fun with them throughout this book. Everybody likes a good story, and I hope you enjoyed the myths with which I began most of my chapters. But even more I hope that, in every chapter, you enjoyed the science that came after the myths. I hope you agree that the truth has a magic of its own. The truth is more magical – in 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.” (P.257)

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(Richard Dawkins: The Magic of Reality- First Free Press trade paperback edition September 2012)