Chapter 4: Teeth Everywhere

I must say that this chapter was much easier to read, maybe because I was in a dentistry at the time.

It’s amazing how teeth are so important, and I'm sure my dentist would agree. When eating, one thinks mostly of the food they are about to devour, not the utensils that will help themselves eat. When Cuvier boasted about reconstructing an entire skeleton just from one tooth, I was finally able to grasp teeth's importance. I always knew that humans were all purpose eaters, but I never thought that there would be a huge difference in the teeth between other organisms that have different diets than us.

I never knew organisms like trithledonts and tiktalik existed. Trithledonts amazed me and opened my mind to all possibilities. Also, the conodonts amazed me as well. I thought, "how else would you eat without teeth?”, but there was a way.

Just by reading the first 4 chapters, I can see now that there are many ways that we can trace the same organ in different creatures. With a mixture of an autobiography, information, and personal anecdotes, Shubin created a novel that is perfect to read without any dozing-offs.