Chapter 7: Adventures in Bodybuilding

This chapter was interesting how it started off with something small from microscopic topics to a big-scale subject such as the formation of the body. From previous chapters, Shubin would usually strive to hint and form a bridge to his conclusion, but this chapter seemed as if he were trying to surprise the readers about what he has in his mind. Therefore, from the start, I already assumed that the chapter was going to be a continuation of embryos that he has been lecturing for a couple chapters. However, I was wrong when I found out that what Shubin really wanted to point out was how the different organs in our bodies always will adjust to the growth of humans. This really hit me when this kind of topic was given because its usually off-focus for a lot of people like me. For example, this subject is like a subject as if a person were to experiment how many times would an average person blink in a minute. Although specific but often ignored, Shubin's discussion of our bodies caught my attention through the whole chapter. As I kept reading, it felt like as if our cells were personified. I realized that cells were not parts of my body but in fact, they are what I am. Moreover, just as how Shubin described the adaptations of the growths of organisms, I was enlightened by the fact that primitive organisms had their traits to survive even through some hard conditions. In conclusion, I loved this chapter more than any others, because it made me realize critical aspects of a microscopic mystery in only about twenty pages.