Chapter 8: Just like previous chapters, Shubin enabled the readers to grasp and anticipate what the following chapter would entail. Though the process of smelling seems complicated, it was easy to apprehend through analogies he provided such as the lock-and-mechanism and a chord. Similar to that of a chord, I've learned an odor is the product of signals from receptors keyed to different odor molecules. Also, it was interesting to discover the main difference from humans and lampreys for they extract odors from water instead of air. I finally knew why dogs are used as trackers: they have several genes devoted to smelling meaning they are more sharp to differentiate smells. On top of this, I was fascinated how nasal genes in dolphins and whales had been modified to be used for breathing rather than smelling.
Chapter 9: I've wondered how paleontologists were able to explain evolution involving vision since there aren't as much fossils record as bones. As I read on, I figured it was possible. I merely thought we use our eyes for sight; however, that wasn't the case because they need to capture light for the brain to process an image. Never would I learn how complex our eye process was if it wasn't for this book. It takes numerous steps, for instance, a light needs to pass through the cornea then through the lens which later engage in light receptors and so on. While reading, I thought to myself, 'Just like the dog with extra nasal genes, if a specie had more "ocular genes" would it have better vision than others?' I was unexpectedly absorbed with this chapter as Shubin mentioned a real life situation that occurs almost every night when I am about to sleep. I eventually discovered why it was impossible to see anything when I went from a bright place into my dark room--- the light gathering molecules need time to recharge. It was a bit nightmarish towards the end when Walter Gehring turned on the eyeless gene on a body and an eye had developed there.
Chapter10: Again, I never expected to discover so many things through this book. Who knew we had three parts to our ear when we all we can see is the external part? From Shubin, I realized there is actually three which includes the middle and inner as well. I was surprised myself when I read "It surprises most people to learn that some of the most distinctive traits of mammals lie inside the ear." It is known that mammalian middle ear are different from other animal for they have three bones whereas reptiles and amphibians have only one. It was astonishing to learn Reichert's proposal that parts of the ears of mammals are the same thing as parts of the jaws of reptiles and Gaup's work that the two other middle ear (malleus and incus) evolved from bones set in the back of the reptilian jaw. Their notion seemed hard to believe since the tie between reptiles and mammals were subtle. It was more surprising when Shubin noted that a bone inside a human's ear is the same thing as the rod in the upper jaw of a fish, which ultimately shows that humans evolved from a fish. To me, this chapter stood out the most as it contained an experiment for readers to attempt: "..move your head back and forth while looking at the page. Keep your eyes fixed in one place as you move your head."
Chapter 11: After reading the very last chapter, I truly became fond of Shubin and his work. I was able to gain a profound insight in evolution in which humans and living creature share several common traits. For once I wasn't as shocked as before when there was a list of features we shared with animals including polar bears, turtle, fish, WORM, and jellyfish. I learned just as peeling an onion, we expose layer after layer of history as we see features we share with mammals and by looking deeper, with fish. Most importantly, I obtained a life lesson that if we want to avoid heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and stroke, we should apportion our meals according to our daily activities and move more often to pump the blood up the veins. It was terrifying to learn that with lack of exercise in the legs, problems can develop causing blood pools in the veins. Never did I know choking was harmful until now for food can get lodged in the trachea through which we breathe. Nonetheless, I was intrigued to discover that hic, hiccup is an outcome of the history we share with tadpoles and I liked how Shubin threw in a fun fact that the longest hiccups lasted from 1922 to 1990.
:)
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Chapter 10-11
Chapter 10:
Besides my eyes which fail me almost everyday, my ears are the most keen out of all my senses. Without them I would not have done the same things I do. the three parts of the ears did not surprise me because we practically learned all of this during middle and elementary school, but the part that interested me was the connection that reptiles and mammals have in the middle portion of the ear. The jaw line of the reptile would seem at first nothing like the tiny ear bones, but the development and the shift from the lower head to the middle was remarkable. This gives us an insiders look into the evolution of human beings. From jawless fish, jawed fish, boned fish, amphibians, and reptiles to mammals, everything is connected from the bottom to the top.
What really struck me dumbfounded as well as Shubin was the notion that in 1837, several decades before Darwin published his book of evolution, Karl Reichert found out that parts of our ears are the same as the jaw bones for reptiles without mentioning evolution. I guess it was because of the way of thinking in the scientific community in that time period, but this supported Darwin's theory, I do not understand how many scientists of that age rejected The Orgin of Species.
The "ears" or neuromast organ on water animals were remarkable. These organs are all over the body of that creature and for them to sense how the water is moving and to utilize that to find prey is amazing. Yes, animals on land can do that also with thier sense of smell, but to do the same function but in another organ really distinguishes water animals to land animals, but the connection that we have with water and land is the same but with some differences just like how chapter 11 put it. Subunits.
Another part of this chapter that I enjoyed was the effects of alcohol. When I read the chapter, I was left thinking," Oh, so this is why people act like a bunch of crazies." The ethanol leaks into their gelly fluid in the inner ear making the gelly dense which makes the hair like projections sway and make them think they are moving when they see that they aren't. The chain reaction from chemicals and nerves causes the person to breakdown with nausea as well as a headeache even when they wake up the next morning. The feeling of knowing is great because I always wanted to know why people do that. On the other hand, I had no desire to learn the history of human beings because I wasn't that knowledgable in that section of science, but now that I know a lot about it, I can proudly say to the person next to me, that beef and I are related.
Chapter 11:
The Taxonomy story was funny and great, I even feel the same when having to listen to lectures about why audiobooks are ruining imagination and how they are silencing our voices. However, this situation is different from mine. Taxonomy is actually every important. This study engulfs every single study of science in the field: from single cells to mulitcelled animals. The fields of study are so large and diverse that one is in charge of categorizing the subunits of it. Speaking of subunits, according to the law of biology," Every living thing on the planet had parents,"(174). So as said in the book, if I go way back in time then, I evolved from a worm, yeast, and a fly, but also related to every living thing in the world. This makes me feel a lot less lonely, so the big purple dinosaur was right after all," I love you, you love me, we are a big family..."
That family was developed and then subdivided from many cells to a body plan like ours to skulls and backbones to hands and feet to three-boned middle ear to a bipedal gait and enormous brains. That is one big family which would all lead to one perfect(or almost perfect) creature that walks the Earth this very moment. But then again, nothing is perfect, as explained by Shubin, I realized that there must be a balance between good and evil and therefore our body has both. We have technology that makes our lives comfortable, but we also have self-destructing modes when we use advances. We have the best body systems which can also turn against us at anytime.
Besides the diseases and minor problems such as hiccups, the connection and the little bits of behavior we share that is exemplified in this book helped me realize that I and everyone is not the only creatures that live in this planet. Every species is our family but many do not repect that. So I hope that through this reading, everyone will realize that not only is our world going under because we don't realize this but so is our lives. History will turn back on us both mentally and physically. We must act now.
CHaPtERr eIGhT
What i really found interesting in this chapter was how Shubin said we could find and extract DNA at home. I would really like the opportunity to do that at home or school but mom or budget cuts will not allow it to happen. I believe that a centrifuge is created once all the bits are made into mush and the valuable stuff and the invaluable stuff will separate because of liquid density or because the important parts are always at the top.
Within this chapter, I found fascination in the illustration shown on page 151 of the development of the eye. This representation makes me actually appreciate my eyes and their importance and worth in what and how it sees. I also like how he explains the difference between rods and cones. I really never understood them until now. They are very important in seeing light and in darkness. I had a friend do research based on astigmatism and light and dark perceptiveness.
Once again the illustrations in this chapter really fascinated me. The pictures on page 163 really made me spend time in understanding how they are valuable to us. The picture shows how the bones in our middle ear developed from useless bones to ones that help make us hear.
I really like the subheading in this chapter because it is very true. It first brings all the chapters in this book together and second we are like a zoo, comprised of many different exhibits-different organs and different bones. Also the analogy to a family of Bozo clowns helps understand the genetic evolution that play an important part in everyday life and in the overall analysis of where we come from.
Ch. 8-11
Ch. 8
I didn't know our nose could have such a profound impact on the way we perceive our world. Odors can elicit impulses in our brains. The smell of something may occasionally bring long buried feelings to the surface. The nose is also a very handy survival tool; the smell of tasty food tells us that we're hungry, the smell of sewage will make us feel ill, we are hardwired to avoid certain things because the smell is that bad. What really surprised me was the facts that fish also had the ability to smell inside a small cavity in the head. Living in the ocean, i would never find a reason or purpose for why fish would need the ability to smell anything.
Ch.9
Our eyes are one of our most useful parts of the body, it allows us to see. Our vision allows us to see where we are going, put things in the right places, or find something we are looking for. I can only imagine how hard it is for people who are blind or are colorblind. When you talk about an eye, you will think that the eye is the one who creates or sees the picture, but in reality the brain is the one processing what the eyes see and creates a picture. It is also interesting to note that our 2 tiny eyes are composed of about 70% of our sensory cells and the 30% are within our bodies.
Ch.10
This chapter described all the parts of the ears and explained the functions of the external, middle, and inner ears of organisms. What surprised me was when Shubin said there was fluid inside our ears that can tell us when our head is tilted. I wouldn't have known this because i absolutely hate when water or anything else gets into my ear after a day at the beach or at a swimming pool. When we drink too much alcohol, a substance called ethanol will diffuse into the fluid that's in our inner ear. When that happens, it stimulates our brain and tricks it, it believes we are moving when we are actually not. Ethanol will also extend the problem to our eyes, our brain thinks we spinning and it will pass along that information to our eye muscles as well. This chapter was a really interesting read.
Ch. 11
I was relieved to find that this was the last chapter of the book. This chapter summed up everything from all 10 chapters and put it into 1 organized chapter that was easy to understand and read. The bozo diagram helped me remember that we all received characteristics from a common ancestor and overtime, we developed different characteristics which lead to evolution. I will have probably forgotten most of this information by the time we talk about it again but i really hope not
I didn't know our nose could have such a profound impact on the way we perceive our world. Odors can elicit impulses in our brains. The smell of something may occasionally bring long buried feelings to the surface. The nose is also a very handy survival tool; the smell of tasty food tells us that we're hungry, the smell of sewage will make us feel ill, we are hardwired to avoid certain things because the smell is that bad. What really surprised me was the facts that fish also had the ability to smell inside a small cavity in the head. Living in the ocean, i would never find a reason or purpose for why fish would need the ability to smell anything.
Ch.9
Our eyes are one of our most useful parts of the body, it allows us to see. Our vision allows us to see where we are going, put things in the right places, or find something we are looking for. I can only imagine how hard it is for people who are blind or are colorblind. When you talk about an eye, you will think that the eye is the one who creates or sees the picture, but in reality the brain is the one processing what the eyes see and creates a picture. It is also interesting to note that our 2 tiny eyes are composed of about 70% of our sensory cells and the 30% are within our bodies.
Ch.10
This chapter described all the parts of the ears and explained the functions of the external, middle, and inner ears of organisms. What surprised me was when Shubin said there was fluid inside our ears that can tell us when our head is tilted. I wouldn't have known this because i absolutely hate when water or anything else gets into my ear after a day at the beach or at a swimming pool. When we drink too much alcohol, a substance called ethanol will diffuse into the fluid that's in our inner ear. When that happens, it stimulates our brain and tricks it, it believes we are moving when we are actually not. Ethanol will also extend the problem to our eyes, our brain thinks we spinning and it will pass along that information to our eye muscles as well. This chapter was a really interesting read.
Ch. 11
I was relieved to find that this was the last chapter of the book. This chapter summed up everything from all 10 chapters and put it into 1 organized chapter that was easy to understand and read. The bozo diagram helped me remember that we all received characteristics from a common ancestor and overtime, we developed different characteristics which lead to evolution. I will have probably forgotten most of this information by the time we talk about it again but i really hope not
Yes!!! its its the last post for my summer!!!!:)
Chapter 8: Making Scents
This section was very interesting to me because it shows how all organisms are similar structures because of the smell. Shubin states that odor is a world changer. there was a diagram that helped make the process to grasp about odors much easier. We as humans have more genes for smelling then we do sight.a scent is made from as molecules and atoms. the scenes of smell is needed for the human survival.
Chapter 9: Vision.
there is a eyeless gene.WOW i didn't know that. me being a person who wears glasses to help me see i was kind of scared. i use to hate sitting in the back of the class and not being able to see and i felt that i was missing me something.my eyes are very important to me and to be able no to see would make me feel so bad. that's why my eyes are so important.
Chapter 10: Ears
the scenes of hearing is an amazing and without it i wouldn't be able to hear my precious music. something important i took from this chapter is that our ears are full of liquid. there is a tiny sack of fluid in our inner ear and if we tilt our head the sack will tell the brain when you are tilting your head. this is a important thing that i took from this chapter.
Chapter 11: The meaning of it all
the whole book in all was to was kind of confusing from the beginning. but the last chapter made it all come together for me. the fact that we come from fish is still not sitting well with me because i believe in GOD but i can accept the beliefs of other people. fossils are the things that help people understand where they come from and tells us things about the past and this book was interesting to read to learn something new.
This section was very interesting to me because it shows how all organisms are similar structures because of the smell. Shubin states that odor is a world changer. there was a diagram that helped make the process to grasp about odors much easier. We as humans have more genes for smelling then we do sight.a scent is made from as molecules and atoms. the scenes of smell is needed for the human survival.
Chapter 9: Vision.
there is a eyeless gene.WOW i didn't know that. me being a person who wears glasses to help me see i was kind of scared. i use to hate sitting in the back of the class and not being able to see and i felt that i was missing me something.my eyes are very important to me and to be able no to see would make me feel so bad. that's why my eyes are so important.
Chapter 10: Ears
the scenes of hearing is an amazing and without it i wouldn't be able to hear my precious music. something important i took from this chapter is that our ears are full of liquid. there is a tiny sack of fluid in our inner ear and if we tilt our head the sack will tell the brain when you are tilting your head. this is a important thing that i took from this chapter.
Chapter 11: The meaning of it all
the whole book in all was to was kind of confusing from the beginning. but the last chapter made it all come together for me. the fact that we come from fish is still not sitting well with me because i believe in GOD but i can accept the beliefs of other people. fossils are the things that help people understand where they come from and tells us things about the past and this book was interesting to read to learn something new.
Chapters 6-11
Chapter 6
Well the first sentence of this chapter captured my attention right away. As I kept reading I was amazed by how tiny blobs of cell could turn into beautiful complex creatures such as birds, frogs, or trout. Von Baer's findings, with Christian Pander's financial help, were amazing. He found out that all organs can be traced to 1 out of 3 layers of tissue in the developing embryo. He then compared chicken embryos with anything else he could get his hands on and got the same results. I found this very interesting. Another thing I found interesting was the Hox gene in fruit flies and humans. The diagram of this just fascinated me. Overall, I really liked this chapter. It taught me that all animals are the same but different which is what Shubin has been trying to prove all along.
Chapter 7
While I was reading the chapter, I found it interesting ow Shubin Compared an animal assembling itself to a brick house. I always like how Shubin is creative and always compares things to each other to make it more interesting and easier to understand. As I kept reading, it was interesting the way Shubin talked about cancer because he again compared it to something and this time it was bullies. Just like bullies break down cooperative societies, cancers behave in the same way until they kill their larger community, the human body. This was my favorite part and I read it over and over agin cause I liked it so much. Overall, this chapter, for me, was very captivating and I think its my favorite so far.
Chapter 8
This chapter interested me from the beginning to the end. It was fascinating how Shubin described extracting DNA in a kitchen. It really does sound easy. Also, I found it interesting that our genes involved in sense of smell are present in all our cells even though they are only active in our nose. While reading I realized that sense of smell plays an important part in our life. We remember all kinds of smells so when we smell something, we are either attracted to it or revolted by it. Its amazing how smells can play a huge role in our lives. Furthermore, I liked how Shubin compared smell to a chord in music. Just as several notes act as one to create a chord, signals from lots of receptors keyed to different odor molecules create an odor. And as I kept reading on, Shubin compared how we breath to fish just as I predicted he would. I learned that there are two kinds of smelling genes: one for water and for air, but lampreys and hagfish have both. This means that these fish came before the gene split into two. This chapter was very interesting because I learned many things about the sense of smell that I wouldn't have known otherwise.
Chapter 9
Well, after reading the last chapter, I knew I was going to learn things about vision that I didn't know before just like I did with smell. I liked how Shubin started the chapter off with a story because it really captured my attention. As I read on to the part where Shubin talked about our eyes capturing light and our brains processing it as an image, I had to stop reading and look around. I was like wow our brains process the light as an image so quickly! He then went on to explain the process of how we see an image and I was just fascinated. Then Shubin went on, as I knew he would, to explain how our eyes are common to fish and other mammals. I fould light-gathering molecules fascinating and I really liked how Shubin explained their purpose. When I went on to read the tissues section, I was interested with how different kind of animals' eyes share common parts when we look to primitive invertebrates. When I read the genes section, I was amazed with the eyeless gene. Overall, I enjoyed learning many things about our "camera-eye."
Chapter 1o
When I started this chapter, I found it interesting how Shubin used adjectives like "snail-shell" and "plunger" to describe the ear. I always wondered how we are able to hear and Shubin explained it in a way I could understand. The diagram really helped me understand the outer, middle, and inner ear. I learned that our three middle ear bones are called malleus, incus, and stapes. Also, I found it unbelievable how the jaw of a reptile is like ear bones in reptiles. The diagram of how they were realted was really helpful and I'm glad it was there. Our inner ear has different parts for different functions. I thought it was just for hearing but its also for telling us that our head is tilted and for how fast our head is accelarating or stopping! The accelaration part of our ear is connected to our eye muscles which is just amazing. I also found it interestiong how we are connected to creatures like jellyfish. This chapter was just full of so much information that I had to read some of it over again. But overall, I really liked it and learned so many fascinting things.
Chapter 11
Finally, the last chapter! Well, this capter was mostly just a summary of everything and I must admit the bozo family tree gave me a laugh. I really liked how Shubin put all that was said in the previous chapters together; it really helped me understand things more. Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot which is funny because I thoght I was going to hate it. Well at least I learned never to judge a book by its cover. (:
Well the first sentence of this chapter captured my attention right away. As I kept reading I was amazed by how tiny blobs of cell could turn into beautiful complex creatures such as birds, frogs, or trout. Von Baer's findings, with Christian Pander's financial help, were amazing. He found out that all organs can be traced to 1 out of 3 layers of tissue in the developing embryo. He then compared chicken embryos with anything else he could get his hands on and got the same results. I found this very interesting. Another thing I found interesting was the Hox gene in fruit flies and humans. The diagram of this just fascinated me. Overall, I really liked this chapter. It taught me that all animals are the same but different which is what Shubin has been trying to prove all along.
Chapter 7
While I was reading the chapter, I found it interesting ow Shubin Compared an animal assembling itself to a brick house. I always like how Shubin is creative and always compares things to each other to make it more interesting and easier to understand. As I kept reading, it was interesting the way Shubin talked about cancer because he again compared it to something and this time it was bullies. Just like bullies break down cooperative societies, cancers behave in the same way until they kill their larger community, the human body. This was my favorite part and I read it over and over agin cause I liked it so much. Overall, this chapter, for me, was very captivating and I think its my favorite so far.
Chapter 8
This chapter interested me from the beginning to the end. It was fascinating how Shubin described extracting DNA in a kitchen. It really does sound easy. Also, I found it interesting that our genes involved in sense of smell are present in all our cells even though they are only active in our nose. While reading I realized that sense of smell plays an important part in our life. We remember all kinds of smells so when we smell something, we are either attracted to it or revolted by it. Its amazing how smells can play a huge role in our lives. Furthermore, I liked how Shubin compared smell to a chord in music. Just as several notes act as one to create a chord, signals from lots of receptors keyed to different odor molecules create an odor. And as I kept reading on, Shubin compared how we breath to fish just as I predicted he would. I learned that there are two kinds of smelling genes: one for water and for air, but lampreys and hagfish have both. This means that these fish came before the gene split into two. This chapter was very interesting because I learned many things about the sense of smell that I wouldn't have known otherwise.
Chapter 9
Well, after reading the last chapter, I knew I was going to learn things about vision that I didn't know before just like I did with smell. I liked how Shubin started the chapter off with a story because it really captured my attention. As I read on to the part where Shubin talked about our eyes capturing light and our brains processing it as an image, I had to stop reading and look around. I was like wow our brains process the light as an image so quickly! He then went on to explain the process of how we see an image and I was just fascinated. Then Shubin went on, as I knew he would, to explain how our eyes are common to fish and other mammals. I fould light-gathering molecules fascinating and I really liked how Shubin explained their purpose. When I went on to read the tissues section, I was interested with how different kind of animals' eyes share common parts when we look to primitive invertebrates. When I read the genes section, I was amazed with the eyeless gene. Overall, I enjoyed learning many things about our "camera-eye."
Chapter 1o
When I started this chapter, I found it interesting how Shubin used adjectives like "snail-shell" and "plunger" to describe the ear. I always wondered how we are able to hear and Shubin explained it in a way I could understand. The diagram really helped me understand the outer, middle, and inner ear. I learned that our three middle ear bones are called malleus, incus, and stapes. Also, I found it unbelievable how the jaw of a reptile is like ear bones in reptiles. The diagram of how they were realted was really helpful and I'm glad it was there. Our inner ear has different parts for different functions. I thought it was just for hearing but its also for telling us that our head is tilted and for how fast our head is accelarating or stopping! The accelaration part of our ear is connected to our eye muscles which is just amazing. I also found it interestiong how we are connected to creatures like jellyfish. This chapter was just full of so much information that I had to read some of it over again. But overall, I really liked it and learned so many fascinting things.
Chapter 11
Finally, the last chapter! Well, this capter was mostly just a summary of everything and I must admit the bozo family tree gave me a laugh. I really liked how Shubin put all that was said in the previous chapters together; it really helped me understand things more. Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot which is funny because I thoght I was going to hate it. Well at least I learned never to judge a book by its cover. (:
Chapter 8-11
Chapter 8:
This chapter was fairly interesting because of how it delved so much into the sense of smell, a sense I don't think about most of the time. The "lock-and-key messenger" was a unique way to see the way the sense of smell works. The bit about the haprey and fish being able to smell underwater was surprising. I was just at a pool party and can't fathom how a human could smell underwater, so I never really thought about a fish and their ability to smell. A lot goes into the sense of smell, like the amount of genes dedicated to smell (and a lot of the genes don't even work because of mutations). It's truly incredible. While I was reading this chapter, I couldn't help but think about the commercial with febreeze when the woman or man are put into a dirty room sprayed with febreeze and they say it smells nice and fresh...
Chapter 9:
I think I was fascinated with this chapter because it was relating to vision, and as I was reading it, I couldn't help but think, "So, this is exactly how I am able to see the words I'm reading..." Again, this book is making me actually appreciate bacteria, and now it helps me see with the eyes I have now...that's pretty awesome. Mildred Hoge's experiments with the eyeless creatures definitely caught my attention. It just sounded so gruesome, yet it helped so much with understanding the genes in our eyes. Gehring's experiments were insane (in a good way) and left me feeling speechless. He was able to add more eyes to different creatures and also gave a mouse a fly eye...
Chapter 10:
When I read "Ears", I could only think about music, and I was quickly willing to start this chapter (because I love listening to music). Considering the time, Karl Reichert's proposal was astonishing. He was brave for proposing his theory because it was before any real ideas of evolution. The middle ear was the most interesting section of the chapter to me because of how that same bone is in many other animals, but isn't used for the function of hearing. At the same time, though, I thought that the inner ear was interesting because of the fact that it does help with balance as well as hearing. The inner ear-eye connection was also fun to read about while I was shaking my head back and forth. :)
Chapter 11:
The "law of everything" surprised me, yet didn't. It was very obvious, yet I wouldn't have been able to guess that if someone asked me what the law of everything was. It definitely wouldn't have come to mind. I liked the "bozo" analogy because it just fit perfectly when describing descent with modification. I like how Shubin pulled back to the very beginning of the book because it was effective in bringing the book to it's conclusion. When he said "humanity comes at a cost", the first thing I thought about was when I either talk too much or scream too much (at a concert) and the next day, my voice goes out. This chapter was definitely fun to read (maybe even my favorite), and I didn't want to put the book down.
This chapter was fairly interesting because of how it delved so much into the sense of smell, a sense I don't think about most of the time. The "lock-and-key messenger" was a unique way to see the way the sense of smell works. The bit about the haprey and fish being able to smell underwater was surprising. I was just at a pool party and can't fathom how a human could smell underwater, so I never really thought about a fish and their ability to smell. A lot goes into the sense of smell, like the amount of genes dedicated to smell (and a lot of the genes don't even work because of mutations). It's truly incredible. While I was reading this chapter, I couldn't help but think about the commercial with febreeze when the woman or man are put into a dirty room sprayed with febreeze and they say it smells nice and fresh...
Chapter 9:
I think I was fascinated with this chapter because it was relating to vision, and as I was reading it, I couldn't help but think, "So, this is exactly how I am able to see the words I'm reading..." Again, this book is making me actually appreciate bacteria, and now it helps me see with the eyes I have now...that's pretty awesome. Mildred Hoge's experiments with the eyeless creatures definitely caught my attention. It just sounded so gruesome, yet it helped so much with understanding the genes in our eyes. Gehring's experiments were insane (in a good way) and left me feeling speechless. He was able to add more eyes to different creatures and also gave a mouse a fly eye...
Chapter 10:
When I read "Ears", I could only think about music, and I was quickly willing to start this chapter (because I love listening to music). Considering the time, Karl Reichert's proposal was astonishing. He was brave for proposing his theory because it was before any real ideas of evolution. The middle ear was the most interesting section of the chapter to me because of how that same bone is in many other animals, but isn't used for the function of hearing. At the same time, though, I thought that the inner ear was interesting because of the fact that it does help with balance as well as hearing. The inner ear-eye connection was also fun to read about while I was shaking my head back and forth. :)
Chapter 11:
The "law of everything" surprised me, yet didn't. It was very obvious, yet I wouldn't have been able to guess that if someone asked me what the law of everything was. It definitely wouldn't have come to mind. I liked the "bozo" analogy because it just fit perfectly when describing descent with modification. I like how Shubin pulled back to the very beginning of the book because it was effective in bringing the book to it's conclusion. When he said "humanity comes at a cost", the first thing I thought about was when I either talk too much or scream too much (at a concert) and the next day, my voice goes out. This chapter was definitely fun to read (maybe even my favorite), and I didn't want to put the book down.
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