Magic is all around us. We see, smell and touch it everyday. At least, that’s what Richard Dawkins, renowned evolutionary biologist and atheist, would like us to believe.
Throughout history, people have attempted to unravel the complex beauty of the world through myths and tales that have entertained and delighted us all.
Starting with the Egyptians, who thought that ‘night’ was caused by the exhausting task of the Goddess Nut swallowing the Sun every evening and then giving birth to it the following morning. The Vikings saw rainbows as bridges to allow the gods to travel between Heaven and Earth. The Tasmanian aborigines gave their first person on Earth a kangaroo tail and no knees. And some West African tribes believed the world to be a giant’s head, with earthquakes happening whenever he sneezed.
Yet, as Dawkins describes in his new children’s book, The Magic of Reality, the real explanations can be even more enthralling than the myths. In Dawkins’ words: “The truth has its own magic – the magic of reality.â€
Through a series of ‘have you ever wondered how’ questions, the book takes its audience on a scientific journey, giving a beginner’s friendly explanation for some of our most common curiosities: the origins of the Universe, what things are made of and even why bad things sometimes happen. Complex theories, such as Newton’s law of gravity and Einstein’s theory of relativity, that all grown-ups should know about and children have only vaguely heard of, are explained though a succession of beautiful illustrations and fun thought experiments. For example, the vastness of space and its distances are exemplified using a football, peppercorn and pin head.
Darwin’s whole theory of evolution is reduced to one simple question. Do you know who your 180 millionth grandfather was? The answer, ‘a prehistoric fish’, is as charming as any of the mythical tales mentioned in the book and creates intrigue in young and old alike. Equally, DNA is explained by linking a group of unlikely distant cousins such as mushrooms, mice and snails.
Not being a scientist or even someone who knows much about science beyond Brian Cox, my only previous knowledge of Richard Dawkins was his strongly held views on atheism. Like his 2006 bestseller, The God Delusion, this book is full of those opinions, but all are expressed with huge enthusiasm at knowing and understanding the thrilling truth behind the myths. If the aim of the book was to rid children of fairies and Buddha then it fails dismally. But if Dawkins’ intention was to introduce children to a different kind of magic, that replaces nothing, just happily coexists with what lies within a child’s imagination, then his book is filled with fairy dust.
Image courtesy of CESRAS.