The Magic of Reality

By Richard Dawkins

How We Know What’s Really True. Free Press, 2011.

0.0 / 0

20 mins read

16 Key insights

A brief summary of The Magic of Reality

An easy-to-follow text that explains weather, natural phenomena, and evolution in simple, clear terms that everyone from children to adults can understand, complete with fun facts and mind experiments you can do at home.

Key insights in The Magic of Reality

What do you get from this book? Simple answers to science’s most mysterious questions

Understanding magic and reality is integral to building scientific models that test hypotheses

Most cultures have origin stories to explain humanity, but scientists can date fossils, disproving most of them

Changes in gene pools result in different species, which get classified into scientific categories based on breeding capabilities

Atoms are made up of nuclei, protons, and electrons to create molecules that form solids, liquids, or gasses

Earth spins on its axis while revolving around the sun, resulting in changes between night, day, and seasons

The sun is a star that keeps earth warm, but it will eventually explode, creating new stars and asteroids

Rainbows are the result of light being refracted through millions of raindrops, creating a “spectrum” in the sky

The “Big Bang” began with a giant explosion, which scientists can measure using parallax and “Redshift”

There is no evidence of life on other planets but there are enough planets that it’s possible

Earthquakes happen when plates move around beneath the earth’s crust, inflicting havoc on the surface

Bad things happen to people just as often as good, and they are all triggered by a larger event

In general, miracles are the result of rumor, coincidence, or trickery rather than an actual supernatural event

Summary of the key insights

Selected critiques in brief

Final word

Who should read The Magic of Reality

Teachers • students • young adults • science enthusiasts • anyone who’s been confused in science class • anyone with an interest in the natural world

About the author of The Magic of Reality

Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins holds a Doctor of Science from the University of Oxford, where he served as the Professor for Public Understanding of Science from 1995–2008. In 1996, he received the Humanist of the Year award from the American Humanist Association. He is also the recipient of the Zoological Society of London’s Silver Medal.

Richard Dawkins

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