Scan barcode
A review by toniclark
The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True by Richard Dawkins
3.0
Great book: clear and accessible (not sure of the best age group, though). Kids are naturally curious and fascinated by how the world works. They're also susceptible to all kinds of nonsense, of course. This much-needed book fill s a gap between simplistic kids' books and adult science books. Also, we need books that help kids understand, not just the facts of the world, but how we know them and, more generally, how do we know whether something's true or not? And I should think this book would be invaluable to parents, a good many of whom could probably not explain natural selection, DNA, plate tectonics, or probability.
Where else could one find so much in one book? And the illustrations by Dave McKean are astonishing —though somewhat overwhelming. Sometimes too large and distracting. I don't like the weirdly formatted titles with mixed, funky fonts in different colors and sizes (within the same title, that is). But that's me.
I couldn't tell what age group he's addressing. I read somewhere that he's said about age 12 and up. But sometimes he sounds he's talking to six-year-olds. At other times, he uses terms like "the scientific method." Huh, what? The tone bugged me all the way through. The best children's books are those that don't talk down, that adults can enjoy just as much as a 12-year-old. I didn't (always) find that to be true of this one.
I had some mixed feelings about the content, though — not the scientific content, but the way he makes fun of myths, etc. Okay, they're not literally true, but. . . . There's a difference between fairytales and mythology. As another Goodreads reviewer (Noah) has said: "When the old stories about the "gods" and nature of reality were written, they were neither meant to be "just so stories" nor were all of them intended to take the place of science.." The tone bothered me a bit, too. I didn't care for the authorial intrusion.
Noah also quotes Dawkins here: "We don't have to invent wildly implausible stories: we have the joy and excitement of real scientific investigation and discovery to keep our imaginations in line. And in the end that is more exciting than fantasy." Noah then asks, "Why do we need to keep our imaginations in line?" Good point.
"Science . . . will never help us with "How ought I act?" or "What meaning can I find in my life?" . . . "How can I find happiness?" But perhaps the ancient knowledge, allied with philosophy, can be of some use with these problems. . . . "
I have no sense at all of how kids would respond to this (don't have any). I would love to see this book reviewed by some 12-year-olds.
Apparently, there's a very cool iPad version, which I haven't seen.
Where else could one find so much in one book? And the illustrations by Dave McKean are astonishing —though somewhat overwhelming. Sometimes too large and distracting. I don't like the weirdly formatted titles with mixed, funky fonts in different colors and sizes (within the same title, that is). But that's me.
I couldn't tell what age group he's addressing. I read somewhere that he's said about age 12 and up. But sometimes he sounds he's talking to six-year-olds. At other times, he uses terms like "the scientific method." Huh, what? The tone bugged me all the way through. The best children's books are those that don't talk down, that adults can enjoy just as much as a 12-year-old. I didn't (always) find that to be true of this one.
I had some mixed feelings about the content, though — not the scientific content, but the way he makes fun of myths, etc. Okay, they're not literally true, but. . . . There's a difference between fairytales and mythology. As another Goodreads reviewer (Noah) has said: "When the old stories about the "gods" and nature of reality were written, they were neither meant to be "just so stories" nor were all of them intended to take the place of science.." The tone bothered me a bit, too. I didn't care for the authorial intrusion.
Noah also quotes Dawkins here: "We don't have to invent wildly implausible stories: we have the joy and excitement of real scientific investigation and discovery to keep our imaginations in line. And in the end that is more exciting than fantasy." Noah then asks, "Why do we need to keep our imaginations in line?" Good point.
"Science . . . will never help us with "How ought I act?" or "What meaning can I find in my life?" . . . "How can I find happiness?" But perhaps the ancient knowledge, allied with philosophy, can be of some use with these problems. . . . "
I have no sense at all of how kids would respond to this (don't have any). I would love to see this book reviewed by some 12-year-olds.
Apparently, there's a very cool iPad version, which I haven't seen.