Sci Fight is a raucous night where scientists and comedians debate serious issues in a thoroughly silly manner.

This round's topic: Science killed magic

Science is the search for certainty; stripping back an infinite array of colourful possibilities to one evidence based explanation for all *gestures vaguely* this.

Those explanations help us daily; they put planes in the sky; they turn mouldy bread into antibiotics; and we’ve seen a definite downturn of virgin sacrifices per harvest. 

But for all we have gained through science, have we surrendered the wonder of magic? Do the ideas of karma, meridian lines and fate give our lives meaning and purpose that science can’t replace? In dissecting the frog, are we now frogless?

Or does scientific knowledge create even more wonder? Has the lymphatic system inspired poetry? A really thorough systematic review got your heart pounding? A glimpse into the infinite array of space really conveyed how unlikely and special our existence is? 

Or is magic alive and well? Morphing from incantations and sacred objects into star signs, money and a firm belief that a thermomix will complete you as a person? Is magical thinking more science-resistant than we give it credit for? 

Come to Howler and listen to 6 enchanted debaters unpack what science has given us and what it has taken away.