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

About the talk

Neil is the author of Your Inner Fish — A Journey into the 3.5 Billion-Year History of the Human Body, which is a National Bestseller. He is a paleontologist and professor of anatomy who co-discovered Tiktaalik, the ‘fish with hands.’ I recommend you pick up this book — it is a great read.

From Ray's note to Neil before the session: “In your book, I noted the transition from paleontology and anatomy to use of DNA to derive the historical evolutionary record… In Chapter 8, ‘Making Scents,’ you write ‘Anatomists, for example, were seen as quaintly out-of-date, hopelessly entranced by an antiquated kind of science.’ I think your perseverance in the face of this bias among academics and subsequent use of DNA is a very important part of the story… Our last presenter, Michael Hayden, talked about looking at the outliers to tell him more about diseases and their causes. You have done the opposite — looking at similarities from earliest life forms to mammals. In my opinion, both perspectives are valid and needed. Your story about your research in the Pennsylvania area, then to the Arctic, and the sheer excitement of your find are truly wonderful.”