can you believe in science and also believe in some form of spirituality? can you be thoughtful and inquisitive and still have faith in something beyond?can your brain be in harmony with your heart?these essays say yes, yes, yes. science has been so successful at giving us material benefits that many intelligent people believe it also gives us the best picture of ultimate reality. unfortunately, that picture is a cosmic bummer: a mechanical universe ruled by laws that care nothing about the human heart. but you can fully embrace science without being an atheist. in fact, the essays in this book push critical thinking further than most scientists are used to. and-in easy, playful prose-they go places our most educated and well-respected citizens generally don't.refusing to stop at border crossings or check points, spark's essays roam coyote-like over the terrain not only of science, but of philosophy, sociology, anthropology, psychology, history, myth, religion, the supernatural, and our own direct experience of the world. in doing so, they explore a paradox: the idea of a universe devoid of magic may itself be a kind of spell. want to wake up? essays include: the science fiction: how scientific are scientists?who should we ask about god?: do scientists know what reality is?what you see is what you see: common sense & ultimate truthwhere scientists fear to tread: science, taboos, magic, & meaningthe science spell: science & the big picturesumma cum laude harvard graduate, comedy screenwriter, math and science teacher, philosopher, and published poet, chris spark has been a lifelong seeker of truth, without regard for the conventional ways our culture tends to categorize and fracture reality.the science spell is the first collection of essays in the series making belief: essays towards a natural, magical, intelligent faith. in making belief, spark explores deep, life-changing ideas in lively, down-to-earth prose. what are the hidden connections between geometry and jesus, reason and revelation, the paranormal and the pedestrian? do boundaries really separate the impish and the important? the sensual and the spiritual? the everyday and the exalted?by blending what we tend to keep apart, spark's essays offer us perspective on the ways our culture has conditioned us to feel divided and confused, buffeted by competing ideas about existence. in these essays, you'll discover a way to feel yourself more wholly, as part of a coherent, meaningful cosmos-one in which western civilization is but one of many stars.