Chapters 8-11

Chapter 8: This chapter really got me into thinking about how easily DNA can be extracted. Shubin even made a shocking suggestion that this whole process of extraction can even be done in the kitchen. Moreover, as subjects became more complex throughout this chapter, I found out that for a human to smell, different genes are required to smell specific odors. Therefore, due to all these significance, a human's genes make up three percent of one's genes. Furthermore, Shubin goes on to talk about how odor is comparable to analogies such as a key and lock, because odor can be described as the signal to the antennae. In addition, I was befuddled by the fact that the nasal genes in dolphins and whales are developed for breathing rather than smelling.

Chapter 9: Although paleontologists do not have enough evidence to support the figures they try to convey to their audiences, they still have vast amount of fossils to prove their proposals. As for the vision, many people commonly think that we use our eyes as mere devices to see like a monitor that connects to the computer. However, our eyes play more roles than that because our vision's purpose is to capture light through our eyes and process an image through our brains. Even though this subject of vision was taught in my biology class, Shubin refreshed my mind to review only the complex steps to break down the significant matters. To relate to the last chapter, I realized that many misconceptions are made through human traits such as smelling and seeing. Not only eyes and nostrils are used for their basic functions, but also they had more complex features that were annexed throughout human lives. Therefore, some organisms have enhanced eyes that were adapted to their environments even in dark surroundings.

Chapter 10: Although it may sound obvious to other people, I thought mammal's exclusivity of having external ears was surprising. When I read this chapter, I truly found out what Shubin was trying to convey with the term "innerfish." This chapter really focused on how the three ear bones had their connections to the ones of reptiles and fish. When Shubin referred to the saying of Reichert, I was trapped in my wonders on how a mammal's parts of ears could relate to the jaws of reptiles. Thus, the ultimate theme of this chapter was very intriguing and unbelievable, but at the same time it was nevertheless an amazing chapter. If I were to read this chapter first prior to reading first nine chapters, I would have been confounded by the craziness of this relationship. However, I was really amazed how through the chapters, he made connections to every chapter to enlighten my views of a certain subject.

Chapter 11: After reading this last bit of Shubin's tale, I have to admit that I appreciate what he wrote throughout the course of reading. I was one of many people who denied evolution just for the sense of religion that came into my mind, but after this assignment came and left, I gained a whole new perspective of evolution. This chapter was particularly the most intricate because of all the condensation of information had to come in a few pages which summarized all of Shubin's points through the chapters. The point that he made clear on was that any life can be traced through the discovery of "innerfish." As long as there are some kinds of evidence whether it is vague or vast, it is still worthy of hinting us about how we came along. Lastly, I personally thought that the fun facts he threw in to wrap up were not that surprising because I believe that this 99% of the book contained interesting and valuable facts.