Before I started reading this book, I was a bit curious about the title our Inner Fish. I read many other's posts about how they thought of this book as a boring text at first but for me, I was quite interested.
As I read through chapter 1, I realized how paleontologists have difficult time excavating the 99% extinct fossils. Neil Shubin even states throughout the chapter that he had many failures because of the vast range of areas where fossils are located at. After Shubin stated all those things, I wondered if paleontologists find anything. They need to find the right location, right age of rocks, and so many more qualifications just to find a single piece of fossil. Surprisingly, Shubin explains the key to finding the fossils later on: serendipity.
What?? So good fortune is the only requirement in becoming a successful paleontologist? Well, as I read further on, this wasn't true. Serendipity was a part of it and there were many other factors like being patient in excavating. Moreover, I loved how Shubin broke down all the steps in discovering Tiktaalik. Locating where the 375 million year old rocks are and after many failures, he finally gathered all the bits of the water/land creature. By the end, he explained a scanty bit about how these creatures relate to humans: the fin somehow transforming into the human hand. I just can't wait to find out Shubin's discoveries on this intricate topic!
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