Ch 5: Getting Ahead

This chapter is by far the most difficult to understand. The way Shubin explains the different arches and parts is as confusing as the topic itself! No wonder Dr. Shubin was studying so late for his anatomy final, it's very challenging. I also agree with Shubin that is it strange and inefficient that the trigeminal nerves and facial nerves crisscross with each other, operating on the same body part. Evolution probably made a mistake on humans. I love how he connects the jumble of these nerves with the jumble of the wires, cables, and pipes in his 100-year-old building in 2001. It made me understand the background of this dilemma. It's so amazing that "Every head on every animal from a shark to a human shares those four arches in development"(Shubin 90). This information makes me truly believe that humans are related to fish, even at the embryo stage.