Chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11

Chapter 8 was kind of an eye-opener to me. It made me realize how our sense of smell can change the way we perceive the world around us, and also the precision from which we are to distinguish all kinds of odors around us. I also liked the way Shubin compared our ability to smell to music. Not only did this chapter convince me even further that we originated to fish with his description of the nostrils, it kind of amazed me how fish are even able to smell things in the ocean just as we do in the air.

Chapter 9 was really interesting; I never really knew why, but I was always fascinated of how our eye works. Shubin really enhanced the description of our eyes to me, and it made this chapter enjoyable. I liked the idea of having a little camera in us, with the complexity of receiving and distinguishing different kinds of light. Shubin was contrasting the opsins in different animals rather than comparing them in previous chapters, but he stayed consistent with his argument that all organisms are basically the same, especially in the last few pages. The experiment regarding the mouse with the fly eye kind of made me nauseous, but it definitely convinced me that the genes that made them are the same.

Before I read chapter 10, I was completely clueless about how interesting ears really are. I never knew that ears could help some animals measure speed, or that they were the cause of dizziness when you're drunk because the alcohol remains in the inner ear. I had heard before that ears had something to do with our balance, but I really liked actually reading about it in this book. It was also cool to understand why eyes and ears are connected--they come from the same major genes.

I was excited to read the last chapter to discover Shubin's ultimate conclusion and to see all of his findings brought together, but I was honestly a little lost and I had to read a few paragraphs twice to grasp what he was saying. I never really found his frequent metaphors throughout his book bothersome, but there were too many for me in this chapter. Furthermore, it was kind of funny to think of our bodies as a "zoo", with all of our connections to other animals and such. I was also laughing when he was explaining that history, specifically our anatomy's history, makes us sick because of its complexity and excessive details (history isn't my best subject). But this chapter reminded me that I love science because it helps me understand more about myself and the world around me, living or nonliving.

I'm never going to look at my goldfish--or any other animal, for that matter--the same again because of this book. It's helped me so much in answering questions and fierce wonderings I had about the human body. I'm really looking forward to Biology this year.