civilizations were primitive, ignorant, or prescientific. The Egyptians, Chinese, Babylonians, Romans, and Greeks, for example, were anything but primitive or ignorant. They all achieved extraordinary levels of scientific advancement. Yes, they had mythology, but they had their serious science as well. The second error is to relegate mythology to the past, making it an addiction practiced only by premodern cultures. On the contrary, mythical approaches to life and learning persist in every culture.