Invisible Forces and Powerful Beliefs: Gravity, Gods, and Minds

Preface

We view our past from the here and now, making it seem like contemporary events are a much larger part of our history than they are. Hominids have been estimated to have evolved about seven million years ago, with our species having evolved only within approximately the last 1% of that period. The human brain was sculpted by evolutionary forces over tens of thousands of years, whereas the human achievements we take for granted, such as civilizations, law, and art, have emerged only during the past few thousands of years. A mere 300 years ago, theology and philosophy were the principal disciplinary lenses through which the world was viewed ...