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Magic or science?
ALL magic must be science. Or is it the other way round? Think about it! Roger Highfield, science editor of London’s Daily Telegraph, is serious when he claims that magic, like science, affords many insights into the workings of the human brain, which he designates as “the greatest wizard of all.”
In flying broomsticks, Quidditch, or Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, science writer Highfield sees Muggle science working. In this captivating book, The science of Harry Potter: how magic really works, he explains how science and magic are intertwined. He offers scientific facts and explains the factual foundation of marvels and mysteries.
Along with that, he delves into the archaeology of witchcraft, tracing the origin and uses of wands and cauldrons as revealed at ancient European dig sites. He speculates on the astounding connection between hallucinogens and flying broomsticks and the bizarre drug-taking practices of medieval witches. The potions and charms that Harry has so much trouble replicating in Snape’s class are in fact grounded in the science of ethnobotany. Here too is a plausible account of the cutting-edge physics that explains the invisibility cloak and the genetic engineering behind the creation of Fluffy the three-headed dog.
“Wizard” actually means wise man, the author reminds us. The Science of Harry Potter sheds light not only on Harry Potter’s magical realm, but also on the magic that is taking place in labs and science classrooms in our own “muggle” world. — M. Khalid Rahman
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