University of Michigan
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Richard Dawkins, Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science, Oxford University

Supernatural magic is what our ancestors invoked in order to explain the world before they developed the scientific method. The ancient Egyptians explained the night by suggesting that a goddess swallowed the sun. The Vikings believed a rainbow was the gods' bridge to Earth. Aside from these extraordinary tales, there is another kind of magic that lies in the exhiliration of discovering the real answers to these questions. It is the magic of reality -- science.

Professor Dawkins is the author of "The Selfish Gene" and 11 other books that have reached such wide audiences that he is recongnized as one of the world's most prominent and controversial intellectuals. His writings have won innumerable awards, including the one from the Royal Society for Literature. In the lobby after the talk, he will sign copies of his new paperback, "The Magic of Reality," a spectacularly engaging illustrated book for children and young adults about why science is so great, one that can be read with pleasure by any adult.

Cosponsored by the University of Michigan Evolution and Human Adaptation Program, Museum of Natural History, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and the School of Public Health.