I have long been a fan of Dr. Neil Shubin. Ever since I first watched him describe tetrapod evolution in the PBS evolution series, I have appreciated his ability to explain complex scientific topics in terms that non-scientists can easily understand.
Dr. Shubin, of course, has since become well-known for the discovery of Tiktaalik roseae, a fossil "fish-a-pod" that he and his colleagues unearthed in the Canadian arctic.
Needless to say, I was very pleased when I saw that Dr. Shubin has recently published a book entitled Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5 Billion Year History of the Human Body.
Did I mention that Neil Shubin has become quite well-known? Indeed, I actually found out about his book while watching his appearance on the The Colbert Report.
Here is a paragraph from Your Inner Fish:
My knee was swollen to the size of a grapefruit, and one of my colleagues from the surgery department was twisting and bending it to determine whether I had strained or ripped one of the ligaments or cartilage pads inside. This, and the MRI scan that followed, revealed a torn meniscus, the probable result of 25 years spent carrying a backpack over rocks, boulders, and scree in the field. Hurt your knee and you will almost certainly injure one or more of three structures: the medial meniscus, the medial collateral ligament, or the anterior cruciate ligament. So regular are injuries to these three parts of your knee that these three structures are known among doctors as the "Unhappy Triad." They are clear evidence of the pitfalls of having an inner fish. Fish do not walk on two legs.
A longer excerpt from the book can be found on the website of the University of Chicago Magazine.
Finally, for a more extensive discussion of Your Inner Fish, as well as an all-around interesting conversation, I encourage you to check out this diavlog featuring Neil Shubin and Carl Zimmer on Blogginheads.tv.
As I write this post, my copy of the Your Inner Fish is on a UPS truck somewhere between Lenexa, Kansas and my house.
I look forward to getting my fins on it soon.
posted by Jeremy Mohn
