Essay Sample on Unveiling Evolution: From Fish to Humans in 375 Million Years

Your Inner Fish Episode 1

In the video, your inner fish, fossil expert Neil Shubin takes viewers back to 375 million years ago when the first fish crawled up to land. According to Shubin, evolution is a gradual process where individuals transform a cell, bone, and gene progressively. Shubin indicated that through this process, new species are created notwithstanding one that carries the trademarks of its evolutionary antecedents such as from fish to humans. I found this fact interesting. Through watching various documentaries of fish, this is the first well-organized established video that shows a link between fish and humans. In the anthropology class, I learned a few things about fish and humans but this video added more ideas. As per the video, Shubin stated that today, the features of fish are present in our hands. He indicated that our hands resemble fossil fins, our heads are constructed like the extinct jawless fish, and our genomes resemble and function like worms and bacteria present in fish.

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Shubin emphasized that human beings and fish are siblings. I find the thesis intriguing even though it is not entirely new. The video shows illustrations of the human limb and that of the fish. I observed that Shubin's illustration was well put. Specifically, Shubin has an admirable sense when he explained the Arctic fossils. In the Artic, upon closer inspection, Shubin noticed that the polar bears were large Arctic rabbits. Also, in the Canadian riverbank, Shubin found the fossil of a tritheledont, a 200-year old mammal and part reptile. I found this part of the video astonishing that 200 years ago, a mammal and part mammal creature existed.

The scope of your inner fish is ambitious. Through his narrative, Shubin puts forward his case for the fish within us. I learned more information about the way fossil amphibian fish have a striking resemblance to human hands, teeth, and feet. The video provides insights of the way the ancient jawless fish evolved into modern mammary sweat glands as well as genes that control our eyes and ears and correspond to human DNA. I liked the way Neil Shubin focused on the evolution aspect and not creationism. As a person who believes in evolution because of my study on anthropology, I found the video refreshing to watch.

I observed that Shubin was flattering himself in his storytelling. I disliked these parts in the video because during some sections of the video, he almost lost track of the plot because of consuming himself in the involvedness of his material.

Overall, the video demonstrates the anatomical features of fish and humans as well as the natural selection of species. Seemingly, our human bodies are reconstructed patches of old bones. Some questions arose from watching the video. For example, if humans are connected to fish, what explains why individuals are unable to sustain the cold waters in the ocean. Also, how can one explain the wiring of the brain in fish and humans?

Your Inner Fish Episode 2 (Your Inner Reptile)

In the second episode, your inner reptile, Shubin talks about human being's roots to that of reptiles. Shubin uses fossils that he collected from Karoo desert in South Africa and the tidal flats of Nova Scotia to show how human beings "inherited" reptile-like features.

The thesis of the video, human beings resemble features of ancient, is intriguing. I like the way Shubin presented the facts to prove his point. For example, he showed us the teeth of reptiles that allowed them to chew their food. I found this fact interesting considering modern-day reptiles do not chew their food, instead, they just swallow. I found it astonishing that those reptile-like mammals had teeth that were divided into incisors, canines, and molars. From the video, it is now believable that reptile-like mammals transitioned towards mammal-ness. Another surprising fact from the video that supports the thesis is the way Shubin projected his attention towards living embryos and modern genetics. For instance, h talked about the yolk sac of the mammalian embryo and the three middle year bones that were present in ancient reptiles and are only present in human beings today.

The scope of the video was amazing. Even though the lining of fossils and informing the audience that each of the fossils transitioned to the next only limited the number of features to jaws and ears, the video still provided useful insights. The mammal-like reptiles have some features that are not present in modern-day reptiles. This demonstrates that the world lost its reptilian biodiversity. Watching the video made me want to go back through time to see what reptiles in the past looked like. In the anthropology class, we learned about the evolution of reptiles during the Carboniferous period. This video added more information about the way reptiles in the past had mammal-like features.

From the video, I learned some amazing facts. For instance, the amniotic sac was an innovation to prevent the reptile's egg's from drying out. I did not know that reptiles, as humans, when they are pregnant, have an amniotic sac. Also, another fact that I learned is that the ferocious beasts, which lived millions of years before dinosaurs had similar teeth and dental formula to humans. Also, I learned that reptile-like mammals that used to live in the dark had similar hair to those of human beings. On a broader perspective, reptiles that lived years ago had features that resemble human beings.

Overall, the video Your inner reptile is epic. However, it draws some assumptions. For instance, it appears that living creatures share a common evolutionary ancestor. Besides, one question arose from watching the video. For instance, is there some form of evidence why mammals are not scaly?

Your Inner Fish Episode 3 (Your Inner Monkey)

The final episode of the series your inner monkey presents the past of primates. Shubin researches about the first primates in the badlands of Ethiopia where the famous hominid skeletons "Lucy" and "Ardi" were found. Also, he goes to the canopy forest in Florida to find out human being's connection to monkeys.

The thesis of the video, human life evolved from a primitive common ancestor is entirely true even though not new. In the anthropology class, I have learned about the history of primates and the way they are connected to human beings. The video enhanced my visual because I saw where and how the primates evolved. Shubin explored what human features such as hands, vision, and brains revealed about the evolution of ancient monkeys. According to Shubin, human beings inherited their versatile hands, amazing vision, and capable brains from primates. Additionally, Shubin talked about the genetic mutation in primates that lived years ago, which made humans have an amazing vision, but unfortunately, it made us have a poor sense of smell. Amazingly, I got to watch this informative video as an educational material from the anthropology class to get a clear picture of the evolutionary origins of the anatomical features present in humans today.

I learned various things from the video. For example, I gained more information about human embryonic development. Particularly, the C-shaped tail, human coccyx, which is also present in monkeys. Besides that, I learned about the hand arrangement of human beings and that of monkeys. For instance, in the video, Shubin presents the lemur-like Notharctus. As he showed, just as the lemur, the hand of the Notharctus has long fingers and fingernails and a similar set of thumbs. The Lemur used those hands to grasp on trees. I observed that human beings have similar hands to those of Lemurs and Notharctus. In the anthropology class, I learned about the rapid expansion of placental mammals and the evolution of mammals. Furthermore, I learned more information about bipedalism. Shubin stated that human being's ape-like ancestors had their home in the trees but still walked upright. Seemingly, our ancestors enjoyed the arboreal world. The video made me think about how the world would be if human beings walked on their fours like primates.

Overall, the video demonstrates that human beings came into being through a series of interconnected events. The evidence presented in the video is amazing. I watched the video twice just to get a clear picture of the way humans and monkeys are interrelated. Nevertheless, I still have some unanswered questions. For instance, is it possible that human being's genes and cells may evolve in the future?