Chapter Four: Teeth Everywhere

Honestly, will Shubin ever bore me into tears ? Because I was filled with excitement reading about teeth, just teeth ! So yes, this chapter was about teeth and how teeth is another similarity we share with all mammals and reptiles and etc. Shubin taught me how important teeth are, but what really surprised me was how the function of our teeth fit our lifestyle perfectly and without them...oh..well...I really wouldn't want to think about that. Also, I loved reading about Shubin's failures (not trying to sound mean). I loved reading them because it shows all of us how this author, is a REAL person. Shubin's failures shows that he became this great palentologist by learning from his mistakes and all also, learning from the best. With that said, I also loved how Shubin ended the chapter.

"The bilogical processes that make these different organs are versions of the same thing. When you see these deep similiarities among different organs and bodies, you begin to recognize that the diverse inhabitants of our world are just variations on theme" (Shubin 80).

I loved how he ended it because I found a weird connection with it. As many of you know, I am currently living in Hiroshima, Japan doing a 6 week homestay by earning a scholarship through Mazda. By living in Japan and reading this quote, it struck me how reading the similarities in species is the same as seeing the similarties in cultures. Japan, I thought, was going to be completely different than sunshine Southern California. I mean, Japan is an island and California is...well a state. But after living here for almost 5 weeks, I've learned that Japan is the same as California, it's just a different "flavor", just as species. When you break species down, you find that they're the same.