Adventures of the mind can be just as exciting as adventures to exotic places. Guides for these adventures are plentiful, some are fictional, some are explorations into the natural world and some examine our place in it. 

Formal reality tours can last for years and result in advanced degrees in science and the humanities. The short tours provided here offer only the excitement of new and refreshing viewpoints and insights. 

Essays include glimpses into social relationships and politics, the origins of awareness, the world of atoms and long looks into the beginnings of...