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A review by uditnair24
The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True by Richard Dawkins
4.0
After a long period of time I picked up Dawkins's work and it was indeed a delightful reading. Though largely the book is catering to younger audiences but still has learning for all ages. He delves into the magic of reality which is indeed the science. Here is an opening to the book:-
" The third meaning of magic is the one I mean in my title: poetic magic. We are moved to tears by a beautiful piece of music and we describe the performance as ‘magical’. We gaze up at the stars on a dark night with no moon and no city lights and, breathless with joy, we say the sight is ‘pure magic’. We might use the same word to describe a gorgeous sunset, or an alpine landscape, or a rainbow against a dark sky. In this sense, ‘magical’ simply means deeply moving, exhilarating: something that gives us goose bumps, something that makes us feel more fully alive. What I hope to show you in this book is that reality – the facts of the real world as understood through the methods of science – is magical in this third sense, the poetic sense, the good to be alive sense."
Throughout the book there is immense amount of discussion on evolution. Evolution through natural selection is indeed one of the greatest ideas propounded and ofcourse established through ample evidences. Also Dawkins takes digs at various myths and religions and this is expected from the author.
" The third meaning of magic is the one I mean in my title: poetic magic. We are moved to tears by a beautiful piece of music and we describe the performance as ‘magical’. We gaze up at the stars on a dark night with no moon and no city lights and, breathless with joy, we say the sight is ‘pure magic’. We might use the same word to describe a gorgeous sunset, or an alpine landscape, or a rainbow against a dark sky. In this sense, ‘magical’ simply means deeply moving, exhilarating: something that gives us goose bumps, something that makes us feel more fully alive. What I hope to show you in this book is that reality – the facts of the real world as understood through the methods of science – is magical in this third sense, the poetic sense, the good to be alive sense."
Throughout the book there is immense amount of discussion on evolution. Evolution through natural selection is indeed one of the greatest ideas propounded and ofcourse established through ample evidences. Also Dawkins takes digs at various myths and religions and this is expected from the author.