Many of us harbour deep questions on subjects such as the origin of the universe, the concepts of time and causality, the nature of consciousness and free will, the mind-body problems of philosophy, the relationship between mathematics and physics, and more. Conventional answers will usually be from fundamental physics (often deeply mathematical) or philosophy (often very abstract). This work takes a different view of reality by substituting mathematical determinism for causal determinism, thereby making it clear why mathematics so adequately describes our observations and measurements. It then deconstructs many aspects of experience - all of which taint our supposedly objective study of the universe - to see how they emerge from a timeless block universe. Subjects such as quantum theory, change, choice, probability, thermodynamics, and consciousness all have to be disassembled. The conclusion is consistent with both mathematics and experience, provides an answer that is immune from the question of 'first cause', and yet does not lead to further questions, albeit in an unexpected way.