Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body

Neil Shubin frequently uses personal anecdotes from his life as a graduate student and researcher in order to introduce his discussions of evolutionary history. What role do these anecdotes play in the narrative? How does Shubin’s usage of personal biography assist in his illustration of biological concepts?

In Chapter 11, Shubin writes that there exists a “biological ‘law of everything’,” which states that every organism on Earth must descend from parents (231). Though this law seems obvious, Shubin argues that it is fundamental to understanding the history of the human body. How does this “law of everything” manifest throughout Your Inner Fish? Choose three different structures in the human body (eyes, teeth, ears, etc.) and discuss how the biological law of everything allows us to understand the structure’s development.

Shubin frequently argues that there exists an “inner fish” inside the human body. Explain what Shubin means by the concept of an “inner fish.” What are some of the ways that biologists like Shubin are able to see evidence of our fish ancestors?