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1-Page Summary of The Magic of Reality

Overview

In What If? (2014), Randall Munroe answers absurd hypothetical questions with research and a clear presentation. He presents the most popular answers from his blog, along with new ones that are sure to delight readers.

In the ancient times, people came up with supernatural explanations for natural phenomena. We’ve come a long way since then, but it’s still easy to explain things we don’t understand in terms of magic. But what if there was another kind of magic – one that is based on concrete reasoning?

Science has taught us a lot about how the universe works. We know that it was created and we know how species were formed. However, most of this knowledge is still unknown to people in general. Science classes are not really useful in everyday life, so most of what you learned in them is forgotten.

In this article, we’ll examine the scientific method and how it can be used to learn about the world. This will help us better understand both science and our own reality.

In this passage, you’ll learn how a 43-mile high pile of photos can show us our ancestors; why one extra oxygen atom makes the air poisonous and how the sun provides energy for water powered plants.

Big Idea #1: To understand something, we have to experience it directly or indirectly with our five senses.

There are many stories about how life and the universe came to be. For example, a Bantu tribe in Congo believes that the universe was created by Bumba.

First, there was only water and darkness. Then Bumba got sick and vomited up the sun, which dried the land. The sun also created animals and people.

Science tells us a different story of our origins. But how can we verify that? How do we know what is real?

We know something is real if it can be experienced directly with our senses. For example, when you taste ice cream, you know that it’s real. When you touch a piece of wood, you also know that it’s real.

If our senses aren’t good enough to experience something, we can use scientific instruments, such as telescopes and microscopes, to enhance them. These tools help us see distant galaxies and miniscule bacteria.

When we can’t see something with our eyes, we can use special machines to help us. For example, X-rays are invisible to the naked eye, but when you use a machine that detects them (like an x-ray machine), you can confirm their existence and learn more about how they work. We know now that X-rays allow us to look inside the human body and examine our bone structures.

The same is true for radio waves. When we turn on a radio or television set, it produces electromagnetic radiation in the form of radio waves. If these waves reach any nearby objects—say, a metal object like your refrigerator—they will bounce off of this object and be detected by your antennae.

But what if we want to learn about the past? We can’t sense it, and complex instruments can only give us a glimpse of it. Instead, we need to use indirect evidence.

For example, fossils are the remains of animals that have decayed and been replaced by minerals.

We’ll never be able to see dinosaurs or saber-toothed tigers, but we can see their fossils.

Big Idea #2: We can learn about things we cannot directly observe or measure by using scientific models.

You’ve probably heard of Einstein’s theory of relativity. But how did he come up with such a complex idea before the invention of calculators?

In order to describe things that are too complex for us to understand, scientists make models based on their ideas. These models may be the result of years of careful consideration or a hunch.