The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really TrueMagic takes many forms. Supernatural magic is what our ancestors used in order to explain the world before they developed the scientific method. The ancient Egyptians explained the night by suggesting the goddess Nut swallowed the sun. The Vikings believed a rainbow was the gods bridge to earth. The Japanese used to explain earthquakes by conjuring a gigantic catfish that carried the world on its backearthquakes occurred each time it flipped its tail.