Read The Magic of Reality Online
Authors: Richard Dawkins
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.
A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to: Lalla Ward, Lawrence Krauss, Sally Gaminara, Gillian Somerscales, Philip Lord, Katrina Whone, Hilary Redmon; Ken Zetie, Tom Lowes, Owen Toller, Will Williams and Sam Roberts from St Paul’s School, London; Alain Townsend, Bill Nye, Elisabeth Cornwell, Carolyn Porco, Christopher McKay, Jacqueline Simpson, Rosalind Temple, Andy Thomson, John Brockman, Kate Kettlewell, Mark Pagel, Michael Land, Todd Stiefel, Greg Langer, Robert Jacobs, Michael Yudkin, Oliver Pybus, Rand Russell, Edward Ashcroft, Greg Stikeleather, Paula Kirby, Anni Cole-Hamilton and the staff and pupils of Moray Firth School.
I
NDEX
The page references in this index correspond to the printed edition from which this ebook was created. To find a specific word or phrase from the index, please use the search feature of your ebook reader.
‘accident prone’, 226
Adam (and Eve), 35–7, 58, 59, 220
agriculture, 46
aliens: abduction by, 182–6; fictional, 181, 193–4; life on other planets, 14–15, 186–93; myths and legends, 180–1, 185–6; vision, 194–8
allergies, 233–4
amphibians, 50
ancestors, 38–43, 46–50, 52–3, 70
Andersen, Hans Christian, 19
Anguilla, 66–7, 68
ant lion, 227–8
apes, 48–9, 60, 72
aphelion, 115–16, 118, 120
Applewhite, Marshall, 181
Arctic tern, 107
Asclepius, 218
asteroids, 136–7
astrology, 219
Atlas, 163
atomic number, 92, 171
atoms: compounds, 79–80; crystals, 80–3, 88; elements, 79; inside the atom, 85–91; knowledge of, 15, 79; mass, 91–2, 93; models, 86–8; nucleus, 87–9, 91–3; radioactive isotopes, 44; splitting, 86
Australian aborigines, 100–2
Aztec religion, 124–6
Babel, Tower of, 56, 61–2
bacteria, 12–13, 65, 96, 140, 230–1, 235
bad things, 216–17, 220–3, 226–7
Barotse tribe, 124
bats, 157, 197
Beagle
, HMS, 67
big bang model, 164–5, 177
birds, 50, 57, 107, 140, 197
Blackmore, Sue, 185
Bohr, Niels, 87
Boshongo myth, 162
Brahma, 163
breeding: between different species, 42, 59, 65, 68–9; gene pools, 73–5; horses and donkeys, 42, 59, 65; interbreeding, 47, 49, 71; Mendel’s experiments, 16–17; natural selection, 30–1; selective, 28–9
Brown, Derren, 20
Buckyballs and Buckytubes, 94–5
cancers, 234–5
carbon, 79, 80–1, 88, 92–3, 94–5
carbon-14, 46, 93
cards, shuffling and dealing, 25–6, 251–2
carnivores, 72, 139–40, 142
Cassini space probe, 116
chameleon, 217
chance, 23–6, 220–1, 223–5
chimpanzees, 18, 48, 51, 52–3, 72
Chinese myths, 162–3
chlorine ions, 82
chromosomes, 17, 51
Chumash people, 148–9
Clancy, Susan, 182
Clarke, Arthur C., 256
clocks and watches, 243–4
clouds, 141–2
coaches, 19, 23–4, 26, 31, 238–9, 253
coal, 141–2, 192
Coatlicue, 125–6
coin tossing, 222, 224–6
coincidence, 238, 241–3, 251
colours, 90, 151–8, 169–72, 176
comets, 115–17, 181
Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur, 246–7
conjurors, 20–1, 252
continental drift, 208, 210
continents, 205–9, 210, 212
convection currents, 211–12, 213
Crick, Francis, 17–18
cricket, 224–6
crystals, 80–3, 84, 88, 90
Darwin, Charles: on evolution, 27, 29–30; Galapagos visit, 67–8; on natural selection, 29–30, 74, 227, 229; tree picture, 60–1, 64
dates, 45–6, 93
day–night cycle, 100–2, 106–7
death, 217
Demeter, 102–3
Democritus, 79
Devil, 220, 247
dialects, 62, 64, 71
diamond, 80–1, 82, 88
dinosaurs, 12, 13, 14, 50, 137
disease, 217–20, 231–5
distance, measuring, 166–8
diversity, 57–8
DNA, 16–18, 50–3, 64–5, 67, 70, 73
Dogon tribe, 217
dogs, 18, 59, 156, 217, 233
dolphins, 72, 149, 197
Doppler, Christian, 175–6
Doppler shift, 173, 175–6, 188
dreams, 184, 241–3
Dreamtime, 100
duck-billed platypus, 49, 198
dust mites, 96
Earth: axis, 104–5, 111, 118–20; centre, 85, 212; convection currents, 212, 213; orbit, 103, 108–9, 115, 118–19, 134, 166–7, 191; sea-floor spreading, 210–12; spinning, 103–5; tectonic plates, 209–14, 223
earthquakes: causes, 208, 213–14, 223; diseases, 219; experiences of, 200–1; myths, 202–5
Eden, 36
Egyptian religion, 127
electrons, 87–9, 91–3, 171
elements, 78, 79, 92–3, 133–4, 170–2
ellipses, 113–15, 117
emotions, 18
energy, 138–43
Eta Carinae, 130, 133–4
Europa, 190, 191
evaporation, 141
evolution: auto-immune diseases, 235; Galapagos islands, 67–71; gene pools, 74–5; gradual, 26–7; languages, 57, 63–5, 66, 68, 71; natural selection, 30–1, 68, 70, 75, 227–9; pregnancies, 233; selective breeding, 28–9; tree picture, 61
eyes, 194–7
faces, seeing, 240
fairies, photographs of, 245–6
fairy godmother, 23–4
false memory syndrome, 183, 185
Fatima, miracle of, 247–9
Feynman, Richard, 243
fish, 40–1, 43, 48, 50, 66, 198
fossils, 13, 43–5, 60, 93
Franklin, Rosalind, 18
frogs, 23, 26, 27–31, 50, 52, 66
fungi, 140, 230
Galapagos islands, 67–71
galaxies, 13, 14, 165–8, 172–3, 176–7
gas giants, 190
gases, 79, 83, 85, 89
gene: flow, 64, 66, 73; pool, 73–5
genes, 16–17, 29–30, 51–3, 68, 71, 73–5
genus, 59–60
ghost stories, 240–1
Gilgamesh, 146–8, 149
Gliese 581, 191–2
gold, 79, 81, 82, 192
Goldilocks zone, 191–3
Gondwana, 206
gravity, 109, 111–12, 115–16, 129–32, 141, 192
Greek: medicine, 218–19; myths, 102, 127, 163
Griffiths, Frances, 245–6
Grimm, the Brothers, 19
Hades, 102–3
Haiti, earthquake, 200, 214
Hale–Bopp comet, 181
Halley’s Comet, 117
hallucinations, 184, 249, 250–1
health, 219
Heaven’s Gate cult, 181
Hebrew myths,
see
Jewish myths
Helios, 116, 127, 131
helium, 131, 132, 133
herbivores, 139–40, 142
heredity, 16
hibernation, 108
Himalayas, formation, 207, 213
Hippocrates, 218–19
Homo erectus
, 42–3, 60
Homo sapiens
, 42–3, 59–60
Hopi people, 57
Hubble, Edwin, 173
Hubble shift, 173
Hubble telescope, 14, 173
Huitzilopochtli, 125–6
Hume, David, 244–5, 246, 248, 250–2
humours, four, 219
hunter-gatherers, 46–7
hydrogen: atom, 92; element, 79; octane, 94; stars, 129, 131–2, 133
iguanas, 66–70
immune system, 231–5
Inca religion, 124, 126
incubus, 185–6
Indian myths, 163
insects, 57, 69, 157, 195
ions, 82
iron, 79, 81, 82, 85, 88, 133–4, 192
islands, 65–71
isotopes, 44–5, 93
Jackson, Michael, 240, 241
Japan: earthquake and tsunami, 200–1; earthquake myths, 204
Jericho, walls of, 202–3
Jesus, 239, 252, 253–4
Jewish myths: Adam and Eve, 35–6, 58, 220; creation, 58, 127; naming the animals, 59; Noah’s Ark, 147–8; Sodom and Gomorrah, 202; Tower of Babel, 56
Jupiter, 129, 135, 136, 188, 190
Kepler, Johannes, 113, 134
lakes, 66, 69, 71
languages, 56–7, 61–5, 66, 71, 74
‘Law of Averages’, 224–5
lead, 79, 81, 86, 88, 92, 134
lead-206, 45
Lear, Edward, 78
leaves, 138–9, 141, 143
lemurs, 49, 60
light: beams, 90; spectrum, 151–3, 154–9, 168–73; speed of, 14; wavelength, 156–8, 169, 171, 196–7; waves, 176
liquids, 83–4, 89
Lourdes, 218
Lowell, Percival, 191
luck, 223–6
lunar cycles, 121
magic: poetic, 19, 21; stage, 19, 20; supernatural, 19, 20, 25, 238
Magic Circle, 20
mammals, 49–50, 51–3, 60, 72, 107–8, 233
Maori myths, 204
Mars, 129, 136, 190
mass, 91–2
Maya religion, 124, 126
Mayr, Ernst, 57
memories, false, 183, 185
Mendel, Gregor, 16–17, 18
mercury, 79, 85
metals, 79
meteors, 136–7
methane, 85
Mexican Wave, 174
mice, 51, 52, 71
microscopes, 18, 86, 95, 96, 230
migration, 107–8
Milky Way, 14, 35, 148–9, 165–6, 172
miracles: definition, 244; examples, 244–5, 251–5; Fatima, 247–9; Jesus’s, 239, 252–4; playing cards, 25, 251–2; photographs of fairies, 245–6; rumours and traditions, 239–41; supernatural magic, 19, 238; technology and, 255–7; witch trials, 247
mirrors, 90
models, 15–18, 22, 86–8, 164, 177
molecules: atoms in, 80; Buckyballs and Buckytubes, 94–5; colours, 171; diamond crystal, 80, 88; fossils, 44; immune system, 233; miracles, 253; movement, 83–4; waves, 173–4
molybdenum, 79
monkeys, 48–9, 52, 60
moon, 121, 124, 128, 189, 192–3
multiverse, 165
myoglobin, 95
naphthalene, 94
natural selection, 30–1, 68, 70, 75, 193, 227–9
Navajo people, 57
neutron star, 193
neutrons, 91–3
New Guinea, 57, 205
New Zealand: earthquake myths, 204; earthquakes, 201
Newton, Sir Isaac, 109, 151–3, 154, 168–9
newts, 28–30, 31, 50
Nigerian myths, 124, 163
Noah’s Ark, 147–8
Norse myths, 37, 127, 149
North American myths, 57, 102
nucleus, nuclei, 87–9, 91–2, 171, 193
oases, 58, 66, 69, 71
octane, 94
orbits: comets, 115–16, 117; Earth’s orbit, 103, 108–9, 115, 118–19, 134, 166–7, 188, 191; ellipses, 113–14, 117; planets, 109–11, 117, 129, 130–1, 134–5, 187–9; satellites, 111; space station in, 106, 111–12
original sin, 36–7
ozone, 80
Pan Gu myths, 162–3
parallax method, 166–8
paranoia, 229–30
parasites, 140, 228, 230–2, 234
peat, 140–1
Penn and Teller, 20
perihelion, 116, 117, 118, 120
Persephone, 102–3
photons, 90, 121
pilgrimage, 218
Pink Panther, The
, 226
planets: detecting, 187–9; distance from star, 191; extra-solar, 187, 189–90, 191; gravitational pull, 129, 192–3; life on other planets, 186–7, 193–8; mass, 192; orbits, 109–11, 117, 129, 130–1, 134–5, 187–9; size, 129, 192; temperature, 85, 191
plate tectonics, 205, 208–11, 223
Pluto, 115, 117, 118, 135
Pollyanna’s Law, 222, 229
Pompeii and Herculaneum, 214
potential energy, 142
predators, 228–9, 230
pregnancy, 232–3
Presley, Elvis, 239, 241
prisms, 151–3, 154, 168–9
protons, 91–3, 171
Proxima Centauri, 14, 128, 130
Pueblo people, 57
pyramids, 126–7
quarks, 93
Quetzalcoatl, 125
radar, 197–8
radio telescope, 13, 15, 158
radio waves, 13, 158, 196–7; modulated, 197
radioactive clocks, 45–6
rainbow: myths, 147–9; real magic, 150–1; spectrum, 152–3, 154–6, 156–9, 168
raindrops, 153–6
Randi, James ‘The Amazing’, 20
red: dwarf, 191; giant, 132; shift, 173, 176, 188
relative movement, 103–5
reptiles, 50
rivers, 141
rocks: age of, 44–5; hardness, 88–9; igneous, 43–4; opacity, 90; pointy, 223; sedimentary, 43–4, 82; types, 43–4
Rowling, J. K., 19
rumours, 239–41, 248
Rutherford, Ernest, 86, 87
Salem witch trials, 247
Salish tribe, 163
salt, 82–3
San Andreas Fault, 201–2, 214
San Francisco earthquake, 201
sand, 82
satellites, 111
Saturn, 85, 116, 136
scallops, 196
scavengers, 140
sea-floor spreading, 210–12
seasons, 102, 108–9, 118–21
selective breeding, 28
Shinto religion, 124
shooting stars, 136–7
Siberian myths, 204
simulation, computer, 16
sleep paralysis, 183–5
sodium: ions, 82; light, 170–2
Sodom and Gomorrah, 202
Sod’s Law, 221–2, 227, 228–9
solar wind, 117
solids, 84–5, 88–9, 90, 175
sonar, 197
sound: speed of, 14; wavelength, 156–7, 158, 175–6; waves, 173–6
space station, 106, 111–13
species, 42–3, 59–61, 64–72, 73–5
spectroscope, 168–9, 171, 178, 187, 188
spectrum, 151–3, 154–9, 168–73, 176
spiders: jumping, 195; webs, 227–8
standard candles, 167–8, 176
stardust, 133–4
starlight, 138, 168–71
stars: distances away, 12, 166–7; galaxies, 14, 165–6; gravitational pull, 129; life story of a star, 131–2; neutron, 193; planetary orbits, 134–5; shooting stars, 136–7; size, 129, 130, 131; supernovas, 133–4; temperature, 129–30
Star Trek
, 181, 183
steady state model, 164
steam engines, 141, 142
subduction, 213
succubus, 185–6
sugar, 138–9, 142–3
Sumerian myths, 146–9
summer, 100, 102–3, 107–9, 118–21