Ch.8 - 11

Ch.8

This chapter was fairly peculiar to me because it explained different organisms have similar structures in the sense of smell. When Shubin stated on pg 140 that odor can change the way we perceive the world, I certainly agreed: Smelling a perfume is much better than smelling a trash. However, when Shubin got scientific about the sense of smell, I was a bit confused. All the odor molecule that responded to the molecules in the air was all new to me and it was hard to comprehend. However, as Shubin used an analogy of a chord to explain the concepts of odor molecules, the whole process became much easier to grasp. Moreover, diagrams that visualized the similarities between jawless fish and other organisms accelerated my understanding of the complex process of scents.

Ch.9

Just like the previous chapter, this chapter helped me understand vision more scientifically. Shubin's explanation of how much of what we see happens inside the brains was a bit complicated and difficult to understand. But as he went on with variety of diagrams of the eye process, I got the picture in my head of our camera-like eyes. Another thing that I found interesting was the light-gathering molecules. I never realized how human eyes consisted of complex parts including the light-gathering molecules. These molecules work together to provide and send the image to our brain and learning this fact was very satisfying for me. Shubin's further explanation of tissues and genes also contributed to a better understanding of this complex topic of vision.

Ch.10

As I read through chapter ten, I was quite amazed by the complex structures of ear. It consists of three parts, the outer, middle, and the inner ear and each one of them function to make a whole ear. Another interesting thing that I noticed was the similarities between mammals and fish. On page 163, Shubin displays a diagram that thoroughly shows the bones from gill arches to our ears and this caught my attention. Learning that a fish has a similar inner ear structure as a human was unique and I decided to continue reading. When I reached the part where fish use their "inner ear" structure to sense the water, I had the chills. Humans have the similar structure to balance themselves and feel the acceleration while fish use it to feel the water and possibly get away from a potential predator. Grasping on these valuable information really satisfied me, realizing that I actually learned something through this book :).

Ch.11

whew! Finally finished the book! Anyway, this chapter summed everything up: Why we need to know all the connections between different organisms and how significant they are. When Shubin started off with the bozo example, I was cracking up. Especially the diagram that displayed the generations of bozos started off by the original humorless couples was very enjoyable. Moreover, scientifically, Shubin explained many connections that many organisms have; for example, the hiccups, hernias, and mitochondrial diseases, and etcs. All these connections seem to be critical to our lives and just as Shubin stated by the end, "these discoveries... tells us how our own bodies work, the cause of many of the diseases we suffer... to make our lives longer and healthier" (198).