Chapter 2- Getting A Grip

This chapter taught me a lot about life millions of years ago and the significant discoveries and connections between humans and fish. As others have mentioned, it really helped me realize the importance of all the parts in the human body, that we take for granted each day. I never appreciated my "hands" as much as I do now after reading chapter 2. Without my hands it would be difficult to do everyday tasks that are necessary in life. I understand that there are also other parts in the body that are equally important to the hands or even more important, but as Shubin explains it "The answer must, at some level, be that the hand is a visible connection between us; it is a signature for who we are and what we can attain"(pg.29). This shows that our hands prove how much we strive in life to achieve our goals, therefore it reveals what kind of person we are.

I thought the discovery of the lung fishes were significant and meaningful because they were similar to regular fish with scales and fins except they had lungs instead of gills. The fins of lungfish have a bone that connects to its shoulder. This was a combination between a fish and an amphibian. An important anatomist that caught my eye was Sir Richard Owen who developed the idea of: one bone, two bones, lotsa bones, and five toes. Shubin mentions the pattern of this idea for all species that have limbs, "One bone, the humerus in the arm or the femur in the leg, articulates with two bones, which attach to a series of small blobs, which connect with the fingers and toes" (pg.30). Once again "Tiktaalik" comes into the story and amazes us with its amazing features! Shubin and his colleague discover that "Tiktaalik" has a shoulder, elbow, and wrist which are the same qualities humans have.

Once you think it can't get any better another shocking think happens! We find out that "Tiktaalik" is capable of doing push-ups! As everyone posted this was a very surprising fact. Because whenever I imagine fish I usually think about small pet fishes that live in tanks. I would never guess that these ordinary creatures would be able to do something as complex as push-ups which is sometimes a difficult task for us humans! The other day I was watching a program on the discovery channel which was taking about how some creatures can exercise and do things that humans can do. And they mentioned that lizards can do push-ups, which is not that shocking because they have a body that is similar to ours with two legs and two feet. But the fact the fish can do something like this is amazing because their body is flat and completely different from ours. So far I have learned that I should never doubt what a fish is capable of!
-Sasha Kapoor :)