Chapter One and Two Blog

Well to start of I apologize for not posting a blog last Saturday on chapter one. I just received my book in the mail this morning.

CHAPTER ONE BLOG: Wait, My Great Grandpa X 1000000 WAS A FISH?
When I first heard about this assignment I reacted the same exact way everyone else did “oh man we have to READ a book….. ABOUT FISH?!” But I’d like to say I regret having ever had this reaction because the book is actually very interesting. Shubin begins his book by illustrating to his audience that he is in fact an average human being like the rest of us. He talks about his profession which seems like a bit of a bore fest but it in fact is quite interesting because as chapter one progresses he clarifies how much his profession, professor of Human Anatomy, impacts his field of study and vice versa. When one thinks of human anatomy the first thing that would pop into ones mind is, well, the human body. Shubin on the other hand took the human body to an entire new level, he took it to the Mesozoic era. Many wonder how man came to be and so they sit there and think about it, Shubin did so as well. He did in fact sit and think about how man came to be, at fossil sites of course. He excavated fossils in rocks that were at least 375 million years old in order to find our ancestors. What we originated from, possibly your grandpa. Well as he excavated through different rocks from different location, he categorized every one of his findings in the categories of: “Everything, Everything with limbs, Everything with limbs, hair and breast, and Everything with all of the things listed before that walk on two legs”. These categorize allowed his readers to understand the process of how man came to be. Now even though different categorize are present, illustrating how man evolved from fish to man, some still thought of his theory as fishy but Shubin then reinforced his findings with the finding of the Siksagiaq, or in other terms, the Tiktaalik. The Tiktaalik conveyed how fish began evolving into amphibians, the had shoulders, elbows, and wrist inside their webbing. To me, this discovery is amazing because before I only heard about man evolving from ape, who knew that ape evolved from fish?
This then makes me wonder what will we evolve into.

Oh and as an additional and final thought, I wonder if his writing style helps convey his meaning because he talks about many excavations which involve trial and error. Did he include this, not to act as a filler but to illustrate how evolution works? That throughout time many species have evolved into different things and died because they were clearly the failures and we survived and were the product because we were the successes?

CHAPTER TWO BLOG: YEAH, My Grandpa X 1000000 Could Do Push Ups!
Now, since chapter one was the basic introduction of how man evolved from fish, Shubin then gets even more detailed with how they evolved in chapter two. He begins by yet again talking about the Tiktaalik and how it has parts of the arm, which are commonly, and if you’re normal, found in humans. His initial description of his profession now further comes into play because he talks about the arm, or wing, or fin, anatomy of other animals. His theory is also then further seen as valid because he gives examples of how our arm evolved throughout time throughout different species. For example, bats have an arm like structure resembling mans, except with longer fingers. I think its interesting that he explained how we developed by focusing on the hand rather than the skull size or location of each fish. Why do I find this interesting? Well I find this interesting because the location of the fish could explain the different shades of skin color and/or the different customs that are seen today. Since he focused on the arm and wrist, I thought that it was amazing that our ancestors could do push-ups in order to prowl the oceans depths to hunt for their prey and/or possibly friends. If it was not for them who knows how our bodies and lives would be shaped. This then brings another thought into my head, If what our ancestors did ,who knows how many millions of years ago, impacts us today, how will our actions affect the future?

So in conclusion, I AGREE with Chrisantha Pinto statement ”Human anatomy is like a giant jigsaw puzzle and they're still working on putting us together.”

- Daniel Sanchez

Chapter 2: Getting a Grip

I found the beginning of the chapter to be pretty interesting, the way how Shubin's first human dissection influenced how he connected humans and animals. By describing personal events and feelings, Shubin attempts to create a bond between him and the reader, so that the reader will have a clearer view of the topic. When Shubin describes Owen's findings on the bone structure of the human arm as, "one bone-two bones-lotsa blobs-digits pattern," (32) it helps the reader understand what he is actually describing. The scientific names don't matter, but what and how we can learn from it are. The diagram in which Shubin shows images of a variety of animal arms helped me picture how similar our bone structure is, even if on the outside it looks nothing similar at all.

The Tiktaalik fossil serves the purpose of bridging the gap between fish and land dwellers, evident through the similarity in hand bone structure. Shubin's comparison of the Tiktaalik's ability to do things thats humans could do, such as push-ups, astounds me. I could not imagine that we humans are so closely related to such old animals. The main interest I had in this chapter was that Shubin was not just studying an old animal just see what it was, but how that animal helps us discover our origins and uncover our unknown ancestors.

Chapter 2

The introduction to this chapter made the content so much more significant. Usually I would think, so they found a hand big deal, but the way he describes the importance of the hand and how it makes us human was very emotional. To me the face would be the part that got to me. All the emotions it possesses and the individuality it creates, but when the subject of the hand was brought up I couldn't help but think how everything that happens in life is proof by your hand. The ability to touch and feel things makes them tangible and gives them significance in our lives. The importance he was able to transfer to hands made me so much more amazed by the fact that our hands took millions of years to develop. The Tiktaalik is the first sign of our bones developing, it's the history on how we were made. Not only that, but all of out bones they have a story, we're actually made of so many different fish assembled together as if we were the final product of so many trials. The way all of this is described grabbed my attention and pulled me into this field. Human anatomy is like a giant jigsaw puzzle and they're still working on putting us together.

Ch. 2: Limbs

The hand is probably the most interesting and unique part of the human body. I like the way that Shubin comments how the "...hand is a visible connection between us"(29). We use our hands for endless uses. If we desire to make a sandwich, we use our hands to grab the bologna, lay the lettuce, squeeze the mayonnaise, spread the pickles, all done with the biomechanics of the hand. One way that I envision the hand as a reflection of us is how we use them to communicate with others with gestures. When we're angry, we cross our arms. When we're beckoning someone in a kung-fu fight, we curl our fingers back and forth to provoke them. It's amazing how the human hand reflects who we are. As Dr. Shubin is amazed at the different motor connections between the hand as it bends, extends, and twiddles, I too am also amazed at it. I am so fascinated how the opposable thumb helps out in so many of our everyday functions, without it we would not be able to write with a pencil! Hmm, I wonder how humans and other animals have opposable thumbs while some creatures like rats do not? I would have to do more research to find that answer.

What I found astonishing was the earliest limbs found on the Acanthostega gunnari. I thought that since limbs developed for this creature to help swim, could humans eventually develop new limbs for additional functions? Imagine, if we sent a family of humans to live underwater that in a billion years, after mass reproduction, these humans will eventually develop limbs to swim and breathe underwater, just like a mermaid! The water environment helped shape Acanthostega gunnari, so we should expect to see more creatures (including humans) to develop new limbs in the billions of years to come. For example in the future if global warming becomes severe humans may have less hair on their bodies and may develop an umbrella-looking limb to keep them cooler. I may be overspeculating but you never know!
-Benni Vargas

Lets not procrastinate!

One of the reasons that I like this assignment is that I get to know everybody before the first day of school... I already know who is on the ball and who is a bit of a procrastinator. Did you ever hear that "Curiosity killed the cat" well... Curiosity is good for AP students but procrastination is not... I would like to see more post Monday through Wednesday and fewer on Saturday and Sunday.

Grip:D

In this chapter i was surprisingly touched about how Shubin when doing his first dissection felt rather ready and prepared until he saw the hand which he called the signature of humans, us, who we are. Even despite making the first initial cut on the body and picking and cutting at the organs. Personally I would have just made a connection with the whole body itself or if we had to cut a cadaver open, the heart.

Also as Shubin uses this as a start point, he then talks about Owen's arm bone patterns. As Shubin describes and delineates the bones of other very different animals with very similar arm pattern: one bone, two bone, lotsa blobs and five toes, makes me ponder on the true idea of a divine being, if this was just full on evolution just as Shubin made the connection as well.

What I also found quite surprising was the fact that the Tiktaalik was able to perform push-ups, something quite impossible for the normal fish. With its shoulder, elbow, and wrist, just like the human arm, they had the capability of bending its elbows, maybe helping it get out of the water, as Shubin points out that in the sea there were many predators that were up to sixteen feet long, a fish eat fish world.

Throughout all the similar fish such as the Eusthenopteron, , the sentence which really brought the whole point in this section to me is how Shubin said "There isn't just a single fish inside of our limbs. There is a whole aquarium" (41). These sentences not only helped me understand why there were so many different fishes that had different types of body changes, but also made a real impact on me; I never really thought it made sense that we came from just one fish.

-Kevin Chun

Chapter 2: Push ups existed 375 miliion years ago?

I was a little grossed out when I first read this chapter and found out that Shubin had made an "emotional" connection to the hand of a dead guy. I mean yeah it's amazing to discover the history and evolution of our limbs and hands, but there's just a little too much feeling there for me hahaha. To this extent, I totally agree with Megan Hsiao, that stuff just grosses me out.

One thing I liked in chapters 2 and 1 is that Shubin asks questions, such as "But what are the major changes that enable us to use our hands or walk on two legs?" (42). Not only does provoke me to think about the answer and think critically , he provides an explanation so I can check my answer with his explanation afterward.

The one thing that still gets me all crazy and wondering like heck is "The earliest development of humans lie in fish". Oh my god, seriously? Even after all the ways Shubin has proven this, I still can't believe it; I actually do believe it, but it's just THAT bizarre.

So, in this chapter I learned about the history of our wrists and fingers; according to Jenny, limbs were developed in the earliest years to help animals swim, not walk as much of the world we know today was underwater. So how did those limbs develop even further into what we know as hands, wrists and feet? Well, the concept is: there are monster fish living in the waters, and if a fish can not grow big and strong to protect itself, then it should get it's butt out of the water and onto land--this explains the development of our wrists and hands today. This all relates back to the Tiktaalik as Megan mentioned in her post because it shows the starting stage for the evolution from being a water mammal to a land mammal. If one really thinks about it, wrists are a necessity to live on land because we don't float around like we would if we were underwater; in the early world, limbs were required to traverse on land. Merely propelling with "fins" against the wind like fish push through the water will not help us get around; thus, the earliest limbs were developed for the same reason every other "organ" is developed: to survive in a designated enviornment by allowing us to catch food, find shelter and defend or escape predators. Bottom line: WE NEED LIMBS TO MOVE ON LAND.

-Ejay Yuan

Chapter 2: Getting a Grip

This chapter really touched me in a spiritual way. While Shubin was speaking about hands and how they are a "signature for who we are" I began thinking about how unique our fingerprints are and how any person can be identified with a finger print. Throughout this chapter all I can think to myself is "Wow, how can God really create all of this?". Even though this novel is about evolution, as a Coptic Orthodox person I strongly disagree with the concept, and instead of looking at how through the Tiktaalik we were able to form, I see how God connects us humans with all the other living creatures on this earth. I agree with Owen on how he saw the theme of the design in the skeleton of all animals is the plan of the Creator (meaning God of course). This novel is actually helping me really appreciate God's creation of us humans rather than seeing the evolution of our being from fish to human. This concept might not be what Mr.Tisor wants me to get from the novel but as I read Shubin's novel of our creation I automatically think about God and how marvelous He is for being able to create such a complex world with such complex organisms where scientist such as Neil Shubin make new discoveries every time they go out to study.

Caroline Eskander

p.s. Do not worry Mr.Tisor I am keeping an open mind as I read this book.

chapters one and two: the connection

sorry I had some trouble with the invite, so here's my combination of chapters one and two :]


Initially when I started reading the book I was curious on how the narration was going to proceed; I was afraid that the writing would be dry, but hopeful that the information would be intriguing. Little did I know that Shubin had craftily combined a difficult lesson with his own story to create this book, and that really helps the reader to understand Shubin's point. I especially appreciated his use of diagrams, and along with his rather simple explanation of things he really allows the reader to fully grasp the idea of evolution and the importance of Tiktaalik as we try to unfold our very complicated history.


For me, the idea that we evolved from fish at one point in time really got me. When I was a kid I always used to wonder where we, humans, came from. If someone would have told me then that we evolved from fish I would have thought they were crazy, but with the knowledge that all life started in the water with little bacteria, the idea makes complete sense. In chapter two especially Shubin helps us to trace back 380 billion years ago to understand where the complicated structure of our wrists and ankles was first seen in an organism. What I really liked about chapter two was that Shubin made me realize that even though we are humans and are the super race right now, we had very humble beginnings. First as a bacteria, then as a jelly fish-like creature all the way to Tiktaalik as the first fish with a wrist, we as a species evolved from these creatures just like every other species. The only difference that we humans have is the power of emotions and rational thinking, something more than just the survival instinct. But what Shubin is telling us here is that we have still have that deep connection to all living creatures, that same blueprint of our wrists that we can find in a great diversity of animals, that reveals to us where we came from. It's this connection, this whole aquarium or animal kingdom that we have inside of us, that makes us who we are.

Chapter 2 - Drop and Gimme 20!

I liked the introduction to this chapter -- I also find dissecting dead organisms somewhat disgusting. The connection I shared with Shubin helped me discover the importance of an arm, or a hand.

The anatomist Robert Owens discovered a relationship between many diverse creatures - particularly limbs. Although bone structures are obviously different, they all have the same design: one bone, two bones, blobs, and toes. Even though ancient fish did not have the wrist structure land animals had, scientists in South America found fish that had developed lungs, which may have been the first step towards amphibians. While many scientists had found fish such as the Ichthyostega and Acanthostega that were amphibian-like, their bone structure was closer to that of a mammal.

Finally, Shubin's search crew found their answer in Tiktaalik. The Tiktaalik was formed like a fish, yet had wrist bones as well as shoulders and elbows. The wrists helped to do "push-ups" --which I found quite HUMERUS -- off of the ocean floor. Discovering the wrist bone of Tiktaalik formed a vital connection that Shubin needed between water and land animals.

~Megan Hsiao (:

Chapter 2- Getting a Grip

The beginning of chapter two, like Ellie said, is what really caught my attention. As Shubin reveals the hand that had once been in use, he lets out emotions that have been concealed for the previous weeks. Knowing that he begins to have an emotion attachment to the hand also allows us as readers to have some sort of emotion. "[...] it is a signature for who we are and what we can attain. Our ability to grasp, to build, and to make our thoughts real lies inside this complex of bones, nerves, and vessels"(29). This quote can show that even though our hands are not that big compared to other body parts, our hands are one of the most important things on our body.

To read about how humans and bats have a common ancestor is very fascinating. I would have never thought that we are in a way related to bats. To know that the discovery of the fish with the wrist is what was the origin of our very on human bodies is quite interesting. I always thought that humans were a unique creation on Earth, but now i know that our bones and figure have been started to improve over 365 million years ago. I thought that this chapter was interesting because i got to learn how humans developed the bones and limbs that we have.

Radha Patel

Enjoying your posts!

On to Chapter two "Getting a Grip"... I am enjoying reading what you have to say. Continue to quote the author, let me know your personal thoughts, and take the time to read what others have posted as well.... Oh yeah... and do not miss deadlines!

Chapter Two: Getting a Grip

The beginning of chapter two is what grasped my attention for the rest of the chapter. The whole uncovering the hand which used to be real, functioning, and had belonged to someone for some reason caught my attention and touched me emotionally. As Shubin moves on, he talks about how a single hand does so much for us and is also another similarity we have with other species. The diagram was perfect, it compared and constrated humans to lizards and to even humpback whales, truly showing how similar they all structured. From the outside, a bats wing and a humans hand look nothing alike, but when you look carefully at the bone structure you see it. Theres one bone that connects to two bones that then connects to the fingers or "little blobs". I found this amazing and it made me realized and see that these structures did not look similar by chance, they are similar because of evolution.

Later, Shubin described how the Tiktaalik had the ability to do a push-up, and I honestly had to read that more than once because I could not see a fish doing a push-up. He described how this fish could bend its elbow and then bend its wrist to create a palm which then leads to a position of doing a push-up, I was amazed. It's not the fact that a fish could do a push up that amazes me, but more of how Tiktaalik gets the ball rolling on the evolution towards humans. Tiktaalik shows the evolution and progress of developing shoulders and wrists all thanks for wanting to survive.

All I can say, thank you dear evolution.

-Ellie Chung

Chapter One

Sorry for the late post; had computer problems.

Chapter One:

To be honest, I was not looking forward to reading a third book for school during the summer. But I have to admit, Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin is waaayyyy better than the other books I'm reading for English class. This might seem a little childish, but I enjoy the pictures because if I'm confused on what Shubin is trying to say, I look at the pictures and I'm just think, "well duh that makes sense now." I also agree with the other students that he is simplistic and it is not as hard as the books we read for English, but sometimes my mind doesn't keep up. When he started talking about him and his friend and their personalities, I automatically thought of my friend and myself, so during the story about the Arctic expedition I imagined my friend and myself going on the expedition. I like the way he writes because it feels like it is his diary and you are reading your own personal experience. I see that he is super passionate about archeology and what he does, and I feel that same passion on things in my life. I thought his description of the Tiktaalik is easier to read, rather than reading something about it in a text book. I'm actually looking forward to finishing this book and it seems really interesting to read about. -Alyson Quan

Chapter TWO: Getting a Grip

So now that Shubin has explained where we come from, he tells us how our bones structure came to be. I like that in every chapter he has a story to tell that brings us closer to him. I was really stunned that he had a connection with the cadaver's hand. But that lead him to explain how our hands came to evolve.

Going back to the 1800's of Sir Richard Owen and Charles Darwin's time helped me learn more about the evolution of our limbs. Owen's discovery of one bone, two bone, blobs, then fingers or toes was remarkable, I didn't believe that we were in some way related to bats or horses, but when I saw the diagram it made sense. And again in this chapter Shubin's diction, syntax, and diagrams helped me understand what he was saying.

When Owen found the lung fish and Eusthenpteron I was SO AMAZED, it helped the search of human evolution, i felt sad that it knees and elbows were facing the same way, poor thing. When they found the fin of Tiktaalik I was hoping that the question of our limbs could be answered, and it was :) IT WAS THE FIRST FISH WITH A WRIST. The fact that it could do push-ups was incredible, i could just imagine Tiktaalik doing push-ups with all his non-shoulder, elbow, and wrist buddies watching him with envy. HAHA.

My favorite sentence of this chapter was on pg. 41 "There isn't just a single fish inside of our limbs; there is a whole aquarium". This just made me laugh. It just summarized into simple, plain, kid words, how our limbs work. And i can't believe we came from reptiles and amphibians.

And now that I type i think of Tiktaalik, and how this wouldn't be possible without him/her/it.

- Nikita Patel

Chapter 1

Comparing to other science books, this book is really easy to read because the words that author chose were easy words and pictures were provided when I need some extra explanation. This book is good to people who are English learner like me because I could understand what the book says without using dictionary when I read the book. Not only that but also the book provides a lot of information about fossil through the author’s experience, so I easily understood that how to search the fossil, how the paleontologists use fossil, and what the fossil shows.

Even though this book was easy to understand, honestly, I did not like this book so far. The reasons that I didn't like this book is that the book is too bored and I hate paleontology the most in the science.

However, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t learn anything through the book. I realized that modern technology made paleontologists easy because they can predict where the fossil is and compare the huge data from the fossil easily. Actually, I was surprised because the book makes me to understand about paleontology easily, even though I have no interesting about paleontology.

Finding Nemo

First of all, the idea of of using fish to find out more about the human body seemed bewildering due to all of the differences between us and the aquatic species, however, when we look at it in a retrospective way, as Neil Shubin says, we need to look at what is in common between us and other animals rather to what is different. The breaking down of animals into groups such as "Everything with heads" helps in this process. Even though fish seem far off from us mammals, it is important to note that 70% of the Earth is water, thus, fish would be a more abundant fossil to be found and analyzed.

Secondly, when Shubin mentions the variety of displaced fossils, such as oceanic materials atop of Mount Everest, I had to look up for a moment and re-gather my thoughts. Could this be possible? That is quite an amazing aspect of the displacement of fossils is quite an interesting subject, and hopefully more is said about it in the future about this. I am still fascinated by tropical fossils being found in the Arctic, which further serves to validate Pangaea since the Arctic would be a bit more South and closer to the Equator.

Anyhow, this novel seems to be interesting and I hope that the rest of the chapters follow in footsteps of the first with powerful facts and details.

-- Abud Albakri

Your Inner Fish- Ch 1.

Just like many other students who underestimated our reading assignment to be
boring and a waste of time, I felt that same way at first. However, as I continued
to read throughout the book I came to acknowledge and appreciate Shubin's book.
I felt that although this first chapter set a fundamental foundation of what the rest of
the chapters will hold.
It's quite amazing how much time and effort is needed to conduct experiments
in order to further prove the scientists' hypothesis/observations of a simple rock.
As i read line by line, it seemed as if there was no final endpoint in terms of the
possible methods in searching for puzzle pieces to finding our "inner fish".
This helped me see a bigger picture outside the box... outside this book. I liked
the author's reference to Dwight D. Eisenhower's remark that planning is essential, but plans
are useless". Because it really is true..... not only does it relate to scientific studies, but in
everything we do in general.
I'm looking forward to what the next chapters contain....

Finding My Inner Fish

I'm so weird that when I heard the title I got excited. It just seemed like an interesting book to me. I seriously wanted to find my inner fish.
I heard good things from this book and yeah, they're true. First off, Shubin's style of writing is really intriguing. It's definitely not a textbook, and even then, it's definitely not some boring scientist document. It was definitely interesting to find out that humans stem from fish. It really helped that Shubin decided to include diagrams in the book. I consider myself somewhat a visual learner so it definitely helped in understanding. It was also really cool to find out that temperatures and climates were very different before. Even mountain regions. Some existed then that don't exist now.

I also love his personal stories that he shares. It just made the Tiktaalik more than what it seemed. I seriously can't wait to read the rest of this book.

Ch.1 ~ Let's Find Our Inner Fish! :D

This first chapter of Your Inner Fish has left me intrigued and yearning to learn more about the mysteries of evolution. Like most of my fellow classmates, I though the book would be boring and a total waste of time. And of course, I was wrong. I found Shubin's conversational tone amusing and easy to understand. He doesn't just list a bunch of scientific facts like a monotone robot. Shubin puts his personality into his writing. He succeeds in sharing his passion for palentology with the reader through his past experiences. The steps he takes through his six years of exploration for the Tiktaalik create a sort of adventure to the reader's (or at least my) point of view. I never knew it was so difficult just to find a few fossils. I found the factor of serendipity to be ironic. I'd actually never heard the term before and had to look up its definition. Serendipity: "the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for". It was ironic how serendipity played such a huge factor in starting Shubin's search but almost disappeared by the end. It was humorous to me, but probably not to them (I'd be pretty frustrated after spending six years full of failures in the Arctic). This chapter has also refreshed my previous knowledge on geology and the different types of rocks where fossils can be found. The fact that humans are related to a completely different sort of species like fish sounded like utter nonsense before I picked up this book. But as Shubin says, "what looks impossible actually happened". And this book definitely convinces you to believe him. Needless to say, I really enjoy Your Inner Fish and look forward to what Shubin has to offer in future chapters.

~Bryanna Streeter :)

I'll go with the cliche: Your Inner Fish

Well, I was actually surprised by Neil Shubin's writing style. When i got the book and read the back, i sincerely though the reviewers were insane. Interesting writing from a scientist!? While reading the first chapter, I noticed that he didn't write like the typical scientist, who just presented facts and data, but rather used a quite simple style of prose that is easy to follow, and might I add, pretty interesting. I liked the way that Shubin captured the reader's attention in the first chapter, which I thought a pretty big feat, considering that this is a book about million year old bones; a pretty dry subject. I enjoyed reading the chapter, because I was able to read it as if it it were a story or something of that sort. My favorite part of the chapter was how I felt a fraction of the excitement that Shubin and his team felt when he wrote about the big find. He allowed the reader to feel the relief they must of felt after their multiple failures, as well as the suspense while meticulously scraping away at the crust and rock surrounding the fossil. This was helped along with the inclusion of the details about the dental tools and great time and care taken to reveal the fish. so, overall I guess I kind of look forward to finishing this book, although in my opinion, it takes a bit too much time out of my summer.

Chapter One;

Before I started reading Shubin's book, I thought it would be a boring interpretation of someone's beliefs and it would just be a book that I would be reading because I have to and it would not be interesting at all. Also it somewhat influenced me to stick to my belief of how everything began in this world, and how life evolved over time. After reading the first chapter, I was proven wrong because it became interesting as I progressed through the first chapter, JUST the first chapter.

At first, I really thought it was almost a basic overview of how Paeleontologists work and what is the study of Paleontology. Shubin also repeatedly states the conditions of where a fossil is can to be found and how it is found, such as how most fossils should be found in sedimentary rock. It was like a repeat of a section from our freshman Biology books or something. Though later on, Shubin discusses the characteristics of the flat fish and the different sub groups and how it all eventually relates to each other. It honestly caught my attention that there is a possibility that life evolved just from a fish.

One thing that pestered my mind as I read was that I was taught from the Bible that God had created everything within six days, and the seventh day he rested. It was almost a constant conflict while I was reading, but I put my beliefs aside just to hear Shubin out and to look over his observations.

He is most definitely onto something.

-Briana Fauni

Chapter 1 :)

Like everyone else I too thought that I was going to dread this book. I already had a lot of summer homework and I was not looking forward to adding yet another book to read. Then as I started reading I was intrigued by how interesting it became. Neil Shubin’s style of writing makes it easier to understand and allows me to picture what he is trying to explain. Reading about all his trial and errors just to find the tiktaalik was quite amusing. I was also impressed to find that he kept looking for the fossils for six years without giving up. Learning about the tiktaalik fascinated me. I always thought that humans came from mammals rather than amphibians. I never really stopped to think about how mammals came about. Did we start off as amphibians? I hope to find out more about the tiktaalik and what humans originated from.

-Julia Valencia

Inner Fish: Chapter 1

To be frank, I was not thrilled to read this book at all. On top of having tons of SAT tutor homework, summer homework from other classes, and my dance recital coming up, my schedule has not allowed me to have much free time for myself. Plus, the fact that I had to squeeze in time to read this book during my free time did not give me a good first impression of the book before I even read it. Like many of my other classmates, the book took me by surprise. It really IS interesting and intriguing. Also, the book is not dense. The vocabulary is easily comprehended and the author did not throw in scientific jargin to confuse me. Shubin's diagrams and pictures were also helpful in grasping his ideas and concepts. What really surprised me was that the author made me smile. He said, "This all sounds very logical, but let's not forget serendipity." After he said this, he goes on to talk about the different struggles and personal experiences in the Artic. Then he said, " It took us four expeditions to Ellesmere Island over six years to find our needle. So much for serendipity." His sarcastic remark humored me. :)

The downside is that I still don't understand a couple things. I guess it's because of my limited knowledge about evolution, but how does Tiktaalik show us about who we are? Yes, it has a completely free head from the shoulder and other parts are similar, but I am still skeptical about how humans can be related to fish. I hope the rest of the chapters can unveil the answers to my questions. I will be anticipating to read chapter 2.

Chapter 1

Honestly, I was bummed to do a reading assignment for AP Biology. I already had reading assignments for English and more reading was not good news for me. However, the book was surprisingly entertaining. Even when I do think of evolution, I always thought of humans developing through a line of mammals, and not from marine animals. The author does a great job with his exciting tone to not bore the reader. Also, the book was fairly easy to read. It was not like the other English books that contained numerous words that I have no idea what they mean. The book does not use only the scientific terms but widely known words, such as fossil.

But I am still confused about evolution. Evolution, as we all know, is a process that happens in a long period of time. So when does that one certain, major change occur? When fishes finally step out of the water? When did the animals start to develop the limbs? With all changes, there is that one major transition that must occur. Animals must have had that one point where they stepped on soil.

Shubin and Religion

Whenever I hear about paleontologists and archaeologists, my mind always seems to go towards Jurassic Park. But, reading the first chapter of the book completely changes my ideas. I mean, the focus of the whole first chapter is to find this link between "Everything" and "Everything with limbs." And when Shubin and his group finally do find the transition animal at the end of the chapter, the excitement isn't there.

More or less, the excitement was there, but it was all about the connection it posed. The excitement about Tiktaalik wasnt about finding it, it was about what it showed.

Personally, as a Catholic, I've been brought up to believe that God is the creator of all things. And growing up in general, there's the conflict of evolution and religion. But, I love the idea of evolution as much as I love the idea of no evolution. So far, I'm definitely enjoying the concrete details Shubin is presenting, and just the book in general.

Your Inner Fish: Chapter 1....

Okay, so it seems that everyone is lavishing Mr. Shubin's story with praise in his enticing story. But to me, it leaves me confused. I understand that the flesh and the bones--they all change. But what about the organs? How to fish become mammals? Do organs also start to adapt to certain situations? Will forcing fish to "breathe" on land give the fish lungs capable of breathing air? So that probably means that we, as humans, can go back to living in water--if forced to.

Personally, I try to stay away from evolution. The fact that we even evolved makes me wonder what we started as, and what we're going to become. Shubin shows us the linchpin that connects fish and mammals, and all I can say is that his argument--about us being related to fishes--is quite logical. But I'd really want to hear what his "supporting details" are.

...Apart from all that, though, I am really intrigued by his mentioning of the always-changing landscapes, and how mountains become valleys, etc. Personally, I did not know anything about changing terrains, besides lakes turning into deserts from the movie Holes.

Chapter 1.

I knew there would be summer homework but I wasn't to thrilled
about it, and especially since it was another chapter book. However
I actually kind of like this book. I thought it would be boring and
all technical and wordy and stuff, but its not even like that at all.
Neil Shubin uses easy words and kind of tells this tale of fish turning into
mammals like a story. And his use of telling his story of him and his colleagues
discovering the fossils makes the book more interesting, it kind of made
me want to read more. So, pretty much my views on how this book
was going to be have changed, its way more interesting than I expected it
to be, and I think I might actually enjoy it.

The topic of evolution however is really complicated, and I think
he does a great job of trying to put it into easy words. I always
thought it was kind of confusing and I'm hoping this book will provide
some clarity? Now its off to chapter 2.......

Chapter One

When I discovered that we had to read a book as part of our summer assignment, I began to dread this book. Before actually reading it, I already did not like it just because it is a book and reading is not one of my favorite things to do. But now that I have read the first chapter, I know that this book is actually interesting. Unlike most educational authors, Shubin is able to hold my attention. He explains information like a story instead of just listing information and facts. Also, by including personal stories such as his discovery of Tiktaalik, it is easy for me to understand and maintain interest in the book. Although science does not usually interest me, especially a book about science, this book is well written and is helping me learn while also heightening my interest in science.

The illustrations throughout the first chapter also helped hold my interest and helped me understand what Shubin was talking about. I am usually a visual learner, so being able to actually see what Shubin is talking about is extremely helpful.

Dreading Fishy Stories? Chapter One

As everyone has said before me, I was not interested in the least to read this book. I thought it was going to be a boring, worthless book trying to convince me I'm a fish. Just like any book, fiction or nonfiction, this book took me awhile to get in to it and understand its purpose. Shubin seemed to continue on and on about how interesting fossils from many millions of years ago are but then I realized I hadn't passed the first few pages.

The illustrations helped me understand the topics throughout the chapter and summed up everything he had been talking about. It was hard to put the book down after page ten. The local discoveries in Pennsylvania made me wonder whether Los Angeles or even the old farm fields of Buena Park lay on any important artifacts/fossils.

The extent to which people go to prove the theory of evolution is fascinating at the same time shocking. I still don't believe humans originated from fish, but maybe Shubin may change my mind as I continue to read about his "fishy" discoveries.

Last day to post on Chapter 1!

I am glad that you are all enjoying the book... and yes... before we were ape-like hominids we were squirrel-like mammals and before that we were reptiles and before that amphibians and on and on until you get to the prokaryotic cell some 3.8 billion years ago.

Enjoy the journey that Dr. Shubin takes you through and I will continue to read your thoughts.

Chapter 1

When I started to read this book, I thought that this would be a boring book just like all the other reading assignments I have to do for summer. After the first chapter, it was not that bad. I did not fall asleep after the first few lines, and found it rather interesting. It did not contain much difficult diction, so I did not have trouble understanding, also the pictures helped me understand what is being pointed out. I learned many things from this first chapter like how fish are related to the evolution of humans... Like who knew that fish would evolve to humans!? I can't wait to read the next chapter.

CHAPTER #1: My inner fish?

Honestly I do not and will not ever believe in the theory of Evolution. Its just a theory and in my opinion a wrong one. Despite my disbelief i do not discredit the author in writing this book because all are entitled to their opinions and his is defended well. This summer assignment and this book some what try to sway the reader into believing in this theory.

The book is written well in despite its scientific nature it is interesting. It is the first scientific book I have not fallen asleep while trying to read it and nor have I been forced to look in the dictionary five times per sentence in an effort to transcribe the language of science.

This book is written for everyone and you do not have to be a scientist to be interested in his work or to try find the history of humanity. This book is interesting and though i would rather be out having fun and with my friends (sorry Mr. Tisor :), this is definitely not the worst summer assignment that we have.

Your Inner Fish: Chapter One

The first chapter of Your Inner Fish was surprisingly interesting. Although I do not believe in evolution, this book was still interesting and I anticipated reading it. He does not use difficult terminology to describe fossils and evolution. His ideas were conveyed effectively because he used causal language. Shubin engaged the reader in the first few pages of his book. Also, the use of pictures and diagrams were very helpful because I could not have imagined what he was describing without them.

Shubin said that "we work at home to maximize our chances of success...then we let luck take over"This statement made me realize the complexity of paleontology. All their plans and predictions can be contradicted with their finds. Being a paleontologist requires much patience and determination. The vastness of the Arctic would have made me felt hopeless and even reading it made me feel discouraged. The fact that it took six years to find the Tiktaalik is amazing. This one fossil had proved that an intermediate between a fish and land-living creatures.

This first chapter reminded me of the video I watched in 9th grade Biology. It traced evolution back to fish and how they eventually developed into humans. I am looking forward to reading the second chapter.

Iris Kim

Chapter 1

At first I thought this was just going to be another dreading summer assignment. However, reading through the first chapter made me realize that this book was quite interesting. The fact that the author is also interested in fossil hunting made it more striking. This shows the passion and belief of Shubin. This book did not contain difficult diction. It was rather more of an easy book to read and understand. The pictures illustrated exactly what Shubin was trying to say. Shubin writes about finding the Tiktaalik. The most interesting part of this is that, I had never thought that fishes had anything to do with human evolutions. Never would I have thought that fishes could eventually turn into humans. I have found this book to be rather fascinating and a very interesting book to read. This book has taught me many things already and I can't wait to read more.

Chapter ONE: Finding Your Inner Fishy!

First off, I hate being forced to read, so just as everyone else I was dreading to read this book, event he title of the book was kind of eh. My friends had started to read it and told me it was good but I didn't believe them. So I started to read it because we had to and since the moment I started reading I tried to find something to dislike about it...BUT THERE WASN'T ANYTHING. I was so interested in the first chapter.

This story reminded me of a video my class watched in Mr. Tisor's class last year about how man evolved or what the first creatures on earth were, and some students fell asleep but I loved it. Haha! I love all the evolution stuff. As everyone mentioned it was an easy read, Shubin writes as if he's actually taking to you, he explains very well with examples by analogies, similes, metaphors, and all that good stuff.

One of my favorite parts of Chapter One was on pg. 11 where he says:
"Similarly, where we work in the Arctic, temperatures can reach minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter. Yet inside some of the region's rocks are remnants of an ancient tropical delta, almost like the Amazon: fossilized plants and fish that could have thrived only in humid locales".
I really liked this because it made me think about where I live and maybe Buena Park was a desert or jungle before civilization...hey you never know! (scientists might). x) And just as he says even in the hottest place it could have been a freezing Arctic, or vice-versa.

I am totally looking forward to reading the next chapter: "Getting a Grip", sounds intresting :) In the future i really shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, LITERALLY! :)

<3 Nikita Patel

Chapter 1 - Finding Your Inner Fish

Unlike many other students that have posted saying that the book was going to be boring, I was actually excited to read the book. However, I had a feeling that the novel was going to be hard to understand considering it's an assignment for AP Bio and that it was located on the dusty, untouched shelves of a local bookstore. As I began reading the novel, it was not at all hard to understand. I enjoyed Shubin's writing style because it as if he was giving us a lecture in class about the Tiktaalik. In addition, I liked how his use of pictures because it shows he really wants us to understand his work and learn something from it. I look forward to reading the next chapter.

Chapter Your Inner Fish

At first as everyone else I thought this book was going to be another boring English assignment, but the first chapter of Your Inner Fish proved me wrong. The beginning of the chapter was not really exciting, but towards the middle when the author started to describe his journey it started getting interesting. Also, this book was not really hard to understand it was almost like Dr. Shubin was talking to out to me. Through out this book Dr. Shubin explained his difficulties and hardships he had to go through which made me as a reader understand the dangers of finding the fossil of Tiktaalik. The picture examples in the book helped me to give a visual understanding of the discoveries, the pictures also helped clear up any confusion the reader may had while reading this book. To be honest to discoveries of Dr. Shubin are incredible unbelievable, how a fish can resemble a human being. I believe this book is going to get more interesting.

- Ankit Salhotra

Chapter One- Finding Your Inner Fish

Although it is summer time and most students would not be ecstatic about reading a summer book, Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin has seemed to prove this statement to be wrong. To my surprise, the first chapter of this book has been an easy and fun read. So far, I really enjoyed the way that the book was written to not be with extremely difficult diction, but instead, it is written so that students can clearly understand what Shubin is saying through his syntax. Shubin uses many question marks that triggers a deeper understanding into the student's learning process of the human body. There are also pictures included throughout the chapter that gives a visual about what Shubin is explaining. Shubin's conversational tone and way of writing creates an easier approach in reading and understanding this novel.

Throughout the chapter, Shubin speaks about his journey in trying to find the Tiktaalik. This process helped me understand the difficulties and struggle of archaeology. Students can truly see through the first chapter of the book that there is a lot that goes into science and the study of an object. Like many people have stated above, the connection between the Tiktaalik and us as humans is truly unbelievable. It is hard to fathom that a fish can have any resemblences or significance to what humans are now. The whole concept seems a little strange to understand, but it is amazing to trace back to millions of years ago. Also, the pictures of the Tiktaalik makes it even more clear of what the image that Shubin is trying to portray to his readers.

Also, Shubin used many analogies that cleared up any confusion, and made it even easier to read with a flow of the book. For example, he used an anology of a zoo, which is a setting that most readers may have related to and are familiar with. This makes it easier to understand what he is trying to convey to his readers even though it may be an idea that we are completely unaware of.

Overall, the resemblence of the Tiktaalik and us humans is an idea that I have found to be truly extrodinary. Throughout the first chapter of the book, I have found myself to be completely hooked and wanting to know more about further chapters to come. This book is a summer-read that is full of information and interesting facts!

Chapter one: Finding your Inner Fish

Like everyone has said, this book is really easy to understand and at first seemed very boring. As I was reading, it felt as if Subin was right in front of me telling his story. By page five Subin had me hooked to the book, stating " I can even scan your backyard for promising fossil sites right from my laptop (5)". How scary is that, but it almost makes me want to go outside and search for fossils. I'm probably living on top of fossil ready to be found, it might not be true but hey you never know.

Right after school got off, I went to Colorado where I saw many interesting sites. As I read this book, I kept reflecting back to my trip. Subin states "But movements of the earth's crust can cause faults that shift the position of the layers, putting older rocks on top of the younger ones" (6). I reflect back on my trip and I am amazed that I was standing next to rocks that were about billions of years old. As Subin has said in this quote, that is how Red Rocks was formed and was uplifted on to the surface. It's ironic that I'm reading this book and I can relate it to my trip to Colorado which makes it even more interesting. During my trip, I also visited Mount Rushmore. Keystone, where Mount Rushmore is at, has very interesting shiny rocks unlike the ones in California which made me look back to to my trip as I read chapter one.

Subin also gives us an image, like when he described Pennsylvania. I also found it interesting that we could relate to fish, a creature that is totally different from how we are structured. The diagram on pg 26 illustrates how a fish can evolve into a human. I stared at the diagram for a while in amazement thinking..."How am I that fish?" Subin ended the chapter with " ...the story of the making of our bodies(27)" which made me thirst for some more.

- Ashima Gore :)

Ch.1 - Finding Your Inner Fish

Chapter 1 of Your Inner Fish was an interesting introduction that compelled me to read the rest of the book. As most of the other students have written, I think that this book is fun and easy to read with familiar words as well as visuals such as the pictures of the maps and diagrams that explain Shubin's thoughts. In addition, he has a conversational tone that is simple to follow that makes the book into a story of his accounts rather than a scientific novel. I like Shubin's passion in finding out about the past and discovering fossils and evidence to prove his questions and theories. He is very thorough with what he is talking about and give detailed explanations about the subject so that the reader will understand him and not get lost. One example is when he explains that he groups all the species into "Everythings" and "Everything with limbs" when he categorizes them.

Further along into the chapter, I found out that paleontology is not as simple as I thought and takes a long time to plan and find sites that possibly hold new discoveries. Also they have to provide their own funds and materials to support their trips which are very limited. Instead of searching wherever they liked, I learned that they choose their likely destination by a process of elimination. They research the spot that likely contain an abundant amount of fossils or has the finding that they are looking for. I thought it was interesting how the age and type of rock was very important in finding fossils.

Finally, the progress and eventual discovery of the wanted Tiktaalik was amazing. I think it was a miracle for Shubin and his crew to find exactly what they were looking for. But of course their discovery was a result of the long amounts of time and hard work that they put in. Although paleontology is not a field that I will pursue in, I think that it is an interesting career that holds many mysteries of the past. I admire the people that work in that area because it takes a lot of patience and research to do what they are doing. For me, it would be a frustrating job but I guess the results would be worth the effort. So far, this book has been splendid and I look forward to reading Chapter 2 to find what happens next.

- Helen Haan

Chapter 1

Okay, so just like some other people said (Chrisantha Pinto) I thought this book would not be interesting, even though Mr. Tisor made it sound good! I enjoy Neil Shubin's style of writing, he writes very informally as if he's talking to you. This reminds me of a novel I had to read last year for my English summer assignment, How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster.

I like how everything is scientifically based, and how he uses the method of scientific process to discover our origins. What intrigued me the most is his belief that everything started underwater.
I like how he has a different view on evolution because I've only heard of two ways; religious methods and monkeys/chipmanzees.

Another AWESOME thing I learned was the discovery of the Tiktaalik. It really helped me picture the transition from sea animals to land animals, and thus the evolution of humans. It reminded me of a Komodo Dragon look, with the outlook of a snake-like-alligator look.

Chapter One

When I fist seen this book I thought, great this will be the perfect way to waste my summer, but as I started reading I couldnt put the book down. I can tell everyone else feels the same way from the comments in their posts as well. The book is surprisingly interesting and written in such a way that the meaning is easy for anyone to understand. Unlike textbooks there is no fluffed up scientific chargen, it's all meaningful and simplisticaly written and still in a way that the emotions of the writer are shown through. As he argues with his partner I was able to feel his frustration and as he found the fossils I felt his excitement. This chapter was able to frame up the work of serching for fossils so well and expose me to a moment in history that I never knew exisisted. The subject of evolution and the science behind it has suddenly become something real as the narration is able to paint a picture of the stuggle and work behind the uncovering of the past.

Chapter One

I liked chapter one of this book because Shubin's writing is simplistic and he gives pictures. At the same time, he tells his story of how he co-discovered Titaalik in the Arctic. Also, this book seemed very interesting and it taught me a lot. The pictures help show exactly what Shubin is trying to say. For example on page 9, the picture that says "Pattern at the zoo" on the top left helps show Shubin's explanation on how animals at the zoo could be classified. When I go to a zoo, I never think about classifying animals when I'm over there, I just look at the animals. I knew animals could be classified, but what I did not know was that classifying these animals could give an idea of how fossils are laid out in rocks. If you look at the right side of the picture, the more developed creatures are at the top and the simple creatures are at the bottom. Just by classifying animals at the zoo, a person can get an idea of how old that creature must be. That's amazing! I also found it interesting that we evolved from fish because humans and fish just do not look alike at all and also fish live in water and humans are on land. At first, I was like "NO WAY!" but then when I got to the part about Shubin discovering Tiktaalik and also when I looked at the picture on page 26 (the one with the fish on top and the dog and human on the bottom) I started to accept that I had an inner fish. I know this book is not going to be boring because I looked ahead and there are still pictures throughout the book. That's all I really have to say about chapter 1. I look forward to reading the rest of this book throughout the summer.

-Nirav Patel

Chapter One

Chapter one was a really great guideline for people who want to find fossils. The author, Neil Shubin, interpreted how and where to find the fossils step by step. He pointed out details and used photos and pictures to give the readers clear understanding about the process. If I want to be a paleontologist in the future, it will be an excellent reference book.
After reading the whole chapter, the most impressive part was a simple but meaningful sentence, which is “We found what we were looking for by trying, failing, and learning from our failures” (16). In the real life I actually understand this sentence’s meaning. My sister and I tried to teach our cousin, Cindy, to ride a bike during this week. However, she fell down because the unbalance on the bike at the first few times. But she did not give up on these failures; Cindy practiced many times and learned how to keep her body balances on the bike at last. So when we meet failures, we should not give up. We need to learn and keep practice from the mistakes or failure that we have made, so it is the necessary process to be successful.

- Tina Huang

Chapter 1: Finding Your Inner Fish

Well at the beginning I was very overwhelmed with reading another book for my summer assignment. But I am actually glad that I got a chance to read this book because so far it's been very interesting. And I am happy that it's not like one of those boring and dull educational books, that only teach their lessons without entertaining the readers.

Chapter 1 of Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish has been quite engaing and enthralling. As many other people have posted, Shubin has done an outstanding job of using diction that is easy and clear for all age groups to comprehend. There are not many big words that confuse or trick the reader. I really like how there are many pictures in this book because it helps the reader visulize the places Shubin and his friends go to and the different fossils and creatures they discover. The pictures help the readers feel like they are also on this journey with Shubin and are experiencing the same difficulties as him while trying to discover new species. Lastly, the diagrams help show how the creature, "Tiktaalik" looks.

The discovery of the "Tiktaalik" was amazing because it's a combination of a fish and a land-living animal. I cannot believe that us humans are related to fish which is kind of strange because even Shubin said "fish and land-living animals differ in many respects" (pg.23). But at the same time this is a very interesting fact that I learned from this book. From reading this chapter I now appreciate and respect the work paleontologists do because their job is very time-consuming and requires a lot of effort. As Caroline Eskander mentioned, I found the end of the chapter also interesting when Shubin takes "Tiktaalik" to his son's preschool. I think it's wonderful for kids at such a young age to be able to learn about fossils and to distingish the fossil as a fish without having any knowledge in paleontology. This illustrates that the new discovery will also be revelant for children.
I cannot wait to read the next chapters and see what Shubin has in store for us!
-Sasha Kapoor :)

Chapter 1

Although I honestly did not expect it, I have found Chapter 1 of Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish to be very interesting and a fun read. I enjoy the way that the book is not like a textbook, which is how most students are exposed to science related information. As said by some of my classmates that have posted, I really appreciate the author's conversational tone because it makes the material entertaining and easy to understand.

In the chapter, Shubin writes about finding the Tiktaalik, and it made me realize the complexity of archaeology. When I was younger, I was convinced I wanted to be an archaeologist because I had thought that all the job involved was settling at a random place and randomly digging around, and this book has confirmed that that is not the case at all.

Like Bryant said, I find the resemblance between us and the Tiktaalik amazing. I never would have guessed that fish were a part of the evolution of humans, and the whole concept seemed very strange to me at first.

Overall, I am learning a lot from this book and find it very engaging as well, which is a difficult combination to find in science related books.

- Francine Castillo

Chapter 1

This book is actually really interesting. As what previous students posted, the writing is really easy to understand and one of the more interesting aspects are the pictures and diagrams that further create the image in the readers mind which allows him to relate to the pictures. Most of what is in the book has already been said by previous posts but the most intersting thing in the first chapter would be the "tiktaalik", which has a flat head, a neck, and most importantly, arm bone with joints. I'd think it would resemble a platupus-crocidile like animal. Earlier today, I watched a show on National Geographic called the Human Family tree, or somthing related to that. I explained how that genetics have shown that all humans are related to one women from Africa that is named Scientific Eve. Its quite somewhat ironic since I just read about how we all come from fish. I also learned more about the rock layers, and which land is ideal for excavation, such as the arctic, where the tiktaalik was found. Well its nice to know that we all came from fish, I like fish.

-Ian Tang

Chaptahh Uno!

Chapter 1 of Neil Shubin's novel began quite intriguing. The simplistic writing style makes it easy to understand especially for someone who finds it hard to focus. *cough cough* Shubin's narration takes you on a journey to discover the undiscovered in ways even a child can understand. You can tell that he is very well educated and spent a lot of time figuring out the perfect way to write this in understandable terms. Although some of his information is common sense or knowledge i have already acquired, the way he presents the material is refreshing and enjoyable. Other information is quite surprising yet fascinating. Who knew that there could be so many undiscovered species/animals amongst our billions of discovered animals. As the journey continues, his discoveries keeps the reader curious as to what the narrator might discover next. (Though for some reason i was expecting the discovery of some mythical creature or some fish with wings) This is definitely an interesting book. Can't wait though for the discovery of a totally bizarre animal!
-Brian Wang

[Ch. 1 (Repost)] Chapter 1: An Intriguing Introduction

When I first bought this book, I was expecting it to be good because of all the positive comments my friends who have read it told me prior to reading the book; their comments proved to be true. Shubin's style of writing and conversational tone help readers understand the science in the novel, even though this chapter doesn't specifically have anything too complex. I actually like the content since the link between our bodies and other animals have left me curious to find out more for a while until chemistry came along and flooded my mind with chemical reactions and equilibrium constants. He elaborated on subjects about geology, dating, and anatomy that I already knew and linked them together to create a way to excavate fossils that paleontologists specifically want. For example, when Shubin found the fossil Tiktaalik, he knew that type of species would be found in the harsh Arctic because of the exposure and the similarities to the type of rock found in Pennsylvania where they previously found a fossil. I also learned that excavating takes years and years to get what they want. I always thought that you go to a site and find what you want in a matter of hours like in the movies, but that would take immense amounts of serendipity. I guess I was completely wrong hahaha. Anyways, I liked this introduction to the novel and I'm waiting for more interesting subjects and facts about anatomy he's going to talk about later.

- Bryan Munar :)

P.S. Is it still in symbols??

Finding your inner fish:D

Well, frankly i wasn't very excited to start my summer off by reading. I wasn't very fond of reading about science either but this book will be the only exception. It made science not science HAHAH. The language was very colloquial it was as if he and myself were engaging in a really long conversation using a bunch of analogies and other methods to make science more engaging.

This book is also surprisingly more like literature, a book us students would read in english, with its Shubin telling us stories about how he and his group uncovered the Tiktaalik.

At first I was actually really happy that there were pictures because it made the load seem lighter, but after really taking a look at it, it really draws us closer to the novel; personally it made it more engaging and helped describe difficult concepts (Especially the one with the differentiation between a fish, the new fossil, and the tetrapod).

Even though science is mostly boring, I was hoping that there would be lots of interesting concepts and it did not let me down. What I thought most interesting was just the basic idea of how the Tiktaalik is the animal which is in between the fish and the primitive land animals, it shows us new insight about even our very own history "as fish".

While also being a rather engaging and entertaining novel, it also did its job of teaching the reader. It reminded me about basic fossil ideas such as most fossils are likely to preserve in sedimentary rocks and the process. It also taught me about the difference of the fish and the primitive land animals: the fish's head is conical while the primitive land animals have flat heads with their eyes being on top. I also picked up from the book that a paleontologists life isn't the greatest life to live, especially as they went through many hardships especially when they went to the Canadian Artic.

-Kevin Chun

Chapter 1: Finding Your Inner Fish

So when I found out I had to read a book for AP Biology this summer, I thought to myself: "Woop-ti-doo, I get to read a book about fish and evolution all summer". However, as I began reading, I actually became interested in this novel. I love how Shubin's writing style is in first person so I really feel as if he is writing straight to me. Before reading about his search in the Arctic, I thought archeology was just boring scientists digging up rocks in heat all day. However, Shubin describes his search in the Arctic to be very adventurous and his passion for this search speaks for itself throughout the book. The pictures he presents throughout the chapter really helps a lot in describing the Tiktaalik. Also, the captions in the bottom of each picture is not just out of some boring ol' textbook but they are written very simple so I am not bored of reading them. Shubin does not use large vocabulary to keep us readers trying to guess what he is saying; instead he plainly comes out with what he is trying to explain. At the end of the chapter, when he explains how he was showing the fossils to the preschoolers, I was impressed that these children were able to give there opinions and they were on a similar track with what the experts were thinking.

~Caroline Eskander

p.s. This whole blogging thing is actually pretty easy. :)

Chapter Uno - Tu Inner Pescado (:

Okay, first I would like to say that I have never, ever in my life liked science. Ever. So upon getting this book, I felt like I was going to drown in a sea of words about a fish evolving into a mammal, and then into a human being. Whoopee. That is definitely something that I would not like to re-live, especially after taking the class two years before. And boy, was I in for a surprise. In the first chapter... WE TALKED ABOUT A FISH TURNING INTO A MAMMAL. Luckily, in a good way.

I agree with Desiree that I didn't go into this book screaming with delight about reading it, but, like she, as well as many of the other students said, I actually enjoyed reading the first 27 pages of this book. I liked the use of analogies, such as a zoo, or water park, because most of us have been to one and have seen the different animals, but now when I go, I will actually look for the similarities, not the differences in those animals, thanks to Shubin. I now have a newfound respect for paleontologists because of the climates and areas they have to work in, even though sometimes those areas won't give them the responses they hope for.

What I loved about this chapter is that because I'm a pesca-lacto-ovo-vegetarian, I eat fish. But now, I don't want to eat fish, because a fish is... me. That's kind of gross, in a cool kind of way. But I'm really excited to learn more of how a fish turned into a me over millions of years. And I also like how I actually understand all of it. It makes me feel smart about a subject that I despise, or... used to despise (:

- Courtney Inbody

Ch. 1

As mentioned from previous posts, i too have noticed how easy and simple Shubin wrote this book. On such a complex and confusing topic like evolution, this book makes it easy to understand the subject. It's as if this book was meant for students to just pick up and easily learn about evolution.

Also, when Shubin writes about his quest of finding the Tiktaalik, it really opened my eyes on archeology and paleontology. It has shattered my belief that paleontologists just randomly choose a spot to work and hoped that spot would yield a fossil or bone. His work has shown me that finding these kinds of discoveries is a complex process from choosing a site to search to actually trying to find fossils, even if luck plays a key role.

Moreover, i find it really interesting how the Tiktaalik resembles us.
Though he briefly mentions it, the fact that this organism's fins resembles the anatomy of our arm is truly amazing. To even think that we even came from a fish-like thing blows my mind away. And to think weeks before i got this book, i thought we all came from monkeys...well not anymore. Anyways, this is one of the most interesting books i've ever read for science and i can't wait to read on :)

-Bryant Wong

Chapter 1 - Finding Your Inner Fish

As many other people have previously mentioned, the first thing I noticed straightaway was the colloquial, easygoing language of the text. I feel like the author is giving a personal guide through the process in the simplest means possible. Additionally, Shubin makes connections to the real world that I never would have understood otherwise. An example would be the “zoo analogy” and accompanying diagram on page nine. Placing living creatures into distinct categories helps me to clearly visualize how time periods are separated and how the bone structures change over time.

The process in finding certain fossils is certainly more difficult than I have previously perceived it; as Shubin said, you need a certain amount of serendipity. It may take eight days just to plan one day of digging.

The discovery of Tiktaalik was revolutionary because the scientists had finally found a bridge connecting the diverse water animals and land animals. It contained characteristics of both water animals – scales and webbing – but also land animals – developing arm, skull, and shoulder bones.

Out of all the books I am reading this summer, this is the most interesting. I can't wait to read more!

~Megan Hsiao (:

Chapter 1 :)

At first glance when I got the book, the last feeling I got about the assignment was enthusiasm. I really wasn't looking forward to the fact that we were going to be reading a book on fish and humans. I was hoping to put it off until later because I was dreading reading it. But eventually I did have to read it and I was pleasantly surprised. I found myself actually liking the book, it's surprisingly interesting and that was not something I was thinking that I would find when I would open the book. I really like that the book is structured in a way that teenage kids can actually read and not want to fall asleep during. The language of the book is very easy to understand and it really doesn't have any technical terms that one couldn't understand. The most technical term is Tiktaalik, and it's explained what the meaning is. Overall i'm looking forward to reading the rest of the book as I found the first chapter interesting, which is odd because the first few chapters of every book are supposed to be so intensely boring!

-Desiree Martinez:)

Chapter One

Neil Shubin has truly given me a new take on biology, through his paleontology. I am very intrigued by his findings in the arctic, but even more so by the whole process of palentology that he explains to us in depth. Also, the process of fish revolving into land creatures is something I did not have previous knowledg of, but i hope to learn more as I continue reading. The facts that hunting for fossils involves a complex skill and strategy, but in the end boils down to luck just fascinates me. The fact that, through all of our industrialization and technological advances, there are still places for us to even look for fossils. Also, the way Neil has narrated the text, it makes it feel personal, like I'm part of the action, and what was going on, and it was exciting. This book started off with a surprisingly good kick, and I cannot wait to see what Neil and his team encounter next.
danielle field

Chapter 1

I never appreciated biology more in my life after a year of chemistry (pst. don't tell Ms. Whitsett). Biology is more relatable and especially after reading the first chapter of Your Inner Fish, I felt as if the entire world was related, because all humans evolved from fish;meaning that all humans have the same ancestors and that we aren't as different as we all may believe. Before I read the book, and even now, I believe that paleontology is a recondite field but Shubin makes the topic seem simple and clear. Even preschoolers (in the book) were able to understand the Tiktaalik. Furthermore, Shubin and his colleague Jason, proved themselves to be the hallmark of paleontologists after they discovered the Tiktaalik, an epogee in the study of not only evolution but prehistoric life. Overall, Your Inner Fish is successful at capturing the readers' imaginations while informing the audience about the profound idea of evolution in a clear, precise way.

Jennifer Kim
ps. sorry if i sound bombastic. im improving my vocabulary at SAT prep classes
:)

Your Inner Fish Chapter 1

This book is definitely an interesting story. First of all, the author captivates the readers attention through his own interest in fossil hunting. It causes the reader to feel excited along with the author. I like how he compares his fossil hunting to treasure hunting because it really is. Although searching for fossil is extremely difficult, his enthusiasm brings greater suspense. I was also fascinated by the different technologies he has like how he can scan the backyard for fossils.
The author guides the readers step by step to help us understand the procedure easier. He also explains about the risky jobs he must undertake in Antarctica. It was funny how he brought up the polar bears being a threat to them. The best part of this chapter was the climax when Jason found the site of the fossil and all they took was a chocolate bar. They excitement causes the book to be interesting. Overall, I think this is a fascinating book.

- Joo Won Jang

inner fish

I had expected this book to be boring and even a hard read because of that. However the author like Radha said doesn't make the book a hard read. Instead he narrates the story in a way that the reader can easily grasp it. I find the diagrams at first a little confusing but then after actually studying them i began to grasp it.
Even from the chapter headings I knew that this book would not be a dull because of the present humor and randomness. His adventures journeys in his job amuses me. I Too would agree with many when saying that the discovery of the Tiktaalik was the most interesting. Also I find it quite interesting of how humans and fish can be connected in evolution (since I think I am far from a fish). This book is very interesting and im excited to learn more of the Tiktaalik added with the authors amusing humor:)
-aarti patel

Chapter 1- Finding Your Inner Fish

The thing that i really like about this book is that Neil Shubin writes the novel in a way in which it is very clear for the readers to understand. The way Shubin writes this novel, like Ejay said, is like he is talking to the readers rather than just giving you boring facts. This method of talking to the reader pulls the reader into wanting to continue to read the novel. The fact that Shubin puts pictures and diagrams in the novel makes the readers understand what Shubin and other paleontologists have to go through.

The thing that interested me about the novel was the founding of the "Tiktaalik". Like the preschoolers at Subin's son's preschool, I also imagined the "Tiktaalik" fossils to look like a crocodile. It is fasinating to learn about how we humans have evolved from fish. Like Ellie said, it is very hard to compare myself to a fish. The long process from fish to human is incredibly amazing and is a great learning experience.

Radha Patel

Chapter 3: Sonic hedgehog

This chapter was especially important because it focused on genes and how every creature is similar based on a specific gene. The thing that caught my interest the most was the Sonic hedgehog gene. It is present when we are embryos developing in the womb and is what develops our hands the way they are. Another thing I found interesting was that if someone was to inject vitamin A into the embryo, they would develop a full duplicate set of digits. From this alone, I learned that genes are very important in developing one's body and that very little disturbances with the process can result in major mutations. Shubin also does a good job relating his topic during the chapter to how that specific essence of biology relates to all creatures (living and extinct). Personally, I love the name for that gene cause I love playing Sonic games and reading that just made me think WOW this guy is cool, better yet this book is cool. I hope everyone who is reading this book is enjoying it as much as I am. :)

- Bryan Munar

Chapter One: Finding Your Inner Fish

I definitely connect with what Ejay and Jason both had to say. Shubin's writing is different compared to other books we have all read during the school year, and his writing technique makes the book easier to read. With the book being easier to read, I find myself much more engaged with Shubin's words. While reading, I tried to imagine myself looking for the tiktaalik and then imagining what it would look like, but I definitely couldn't imagine it! I also praise Shubin for including the diagrams and pictures, it helps me create a better image of what Shubin and many other paleontologists have to go through in order to find bones. The long adventures they go through and the risks they take truly show how much they love their job. I think it's fascinating how this book really does relate to all humans (since it is about how we evolved), but it's hard for me to compare myself to fish. The long process from fish to human is incredible! So far I am loving this book, and cannot put it down!

-Ellie Chung

Chapter 1: Finding Your Inner Fish

It has surprised me that this book is actually holding my interest, usually I can not stand reading, but this comes to me as an exception. Shubin's writing style is very easy to understand, his use of analogies really help portray what he is trying to say. For example, he compares creating a plan for a fossil hunt to creating a plan for war, although it is good to have a plan, overall the plan is useless. Another thing Shubin used to help communicate his ideas was the use of images. The diagram of the layers of rock holding different types of animals, as well as his drawing comparing a fish, Tiktaalik, and a tetrapod really help the reader create a picture in their mind. Shubin also uses simple words and non-complex sentences in order for everyone to understand what he is saying, not just professors or adults.

What I found particularly interesting in the first chapter of the book was the process of how Shubin found the fossil of the Tiktaalik how the finding was so important to the world. The process of going into the Arctic and risking your life to find a fossil really shows his determination to find the bridge between land and water animals. The long, four year process to uncover the fossil of the Tiktaalik, removing rocks piece by piece show Shubin's determination to find the origin of land dwellers. I found his story of speaking to pre-schoolers humorous, how even such young kids are able to see that the Tiktaalik holds traits of both land and water animals. The book has captured my attention and I now look forward to how the discovery of the Tiktaalik influences what we know today about evolution.

-Jason Wu

Chapter 2: A Hand's - On World

As Shubin progresses throughout the novel, I get more interested with the facts of evolution and anatomy he explains to the readers. For example, this chapter focused on the anatomy and evolution of hands. He expressed the utter importance of hands in today's world and how it is perfect for the way we live. I already knew the fact that all hands and limbs in organisms are structurally similar due to evolution. What I did not know was the origin of the hand/limb; but who would've guessed it came from ancient fish (hence the title of the novel). Our hands and limbs do not come from only one fish, but from multiple types. The Tiktaalik the early stages of evolution in our wrists, palm, and finger area while the Eusthenopteron provided for our upper arms and legs. The most interesting thing about the chapter was that Tiktaalik could do push-ups. When I read that I kept thinking about how cool that is. I seriously would want this fish thing if it wasn't extinct. But more importantly, I learned a lot about the origin of our hands, its function, and how it came to be today. Without these fish, I wouldn't be typing right now! HAHA! Another chapter dedicated to my learning experience and awe about anatomy and its connections.



P.S. Mr. Tisor, I'm posting Chapters 2 and 3 prior to their due dates because I cannot access the internet starting from June 22 to July 13.



- Bryan Munar