Thumbs, Toes, and Tears: And Other Traits That Make Us Human

by Chip Walter

Book Overview

The fascinating evolutionary links between six seemingly unremarkable traits that make us the very remarkable creatures we are. Countless behaviors separate us from the rest of the animal kingdom, but... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802715273
• ISBN13: 9780802715272
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Walker Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

I Am The World

"Thumbs, Toes and Tears" surveys six general traits the author, Chip Walter, consideres uniquely human - a big toe, opposable thumb, larynx for speech plus three acts deeply intertwined with our past - laughing, crying and kissing. Included in the discussions are more mysterious aspects - our unique memory system, our intuitiveness, our ability to communicate by all sorts of visual and sensory systems and consciousness, that dark veil that tells us what we thing without telling us who we are. Beyond the prose, examples, humor, facts and insights the reader is still startled to learn just how much we have discovered about ourselves and our brains - the real hero of the story. Each of these human attributes is presented with an overview, background and evolutionary history of the trait from its origins to modern times. What fascinates repeatedly are the ways in which one area overlaps or affects the next. Big toes lead to upright posture that in turns frees our hands for such things as tool making and unconscious movements that express our thoughts. Bipedalism allowed the voice box to straighten and produce noises that developed into language. Thumbs, for example, were integral for tool-making. This stimulated the brain and accelerated the growth of communication. The author considers language the most important skill we acquired since it created culture. As profound as these are to our current current state, the last three are just as intrinsic. Can one imagine a culture without crying, laughter or kissing? We would think it alien and non-human. Walter was at times too quick to introduce purpose into evolution. There is no purpose - women did not (as he assert) have kids to "help the race". They had no idea about a "human race" much less thought that having children would preserve it. In the same way, the toe did not develop for walking (how could "it" know?) - it was the end result of a series of complex forces that reinforced each other. The book is chock full of interesting facts presented in terms most laymen can comprehend. The differences between the male and female brain explained our actions - why men excel at Math and females in English. The author points our repeatedly that we are the fusion of both ancient, evolutionary forces that harken back millions of years and modern ones created by our culture at an ever-accelerating pace. In this sense, the author asserts we are more than our genes, greater than the mere end product of a long chain of chance changes over time. The final chapter, CYBER SAPIENTS, suggests that for the first time, humans will not only aid but jumpstart evolution. The former mechanism of evolution - glacially slow, minute changes over eons will be replaced by tinkering with DNA - instant evolution. Will we replace ourselves with robots? Does evolution require biology? What does it mean to be human when one cannot tell the difference between a machine and a "person"? Great book

A colorful synthesis!

Walter has taken the latest work from the great evolutionary biologists, anthropologists, and paleontologists and made it accessible to the rest of us. This is a thrilling account of the science behind the mystery of what makes us human.

One of my all-time favorites

I love this book! Chip Walter has made our evolution from apes to humans incredibly fascinating and readable. I particularly enjoyed learning about the development of our brains--a very piecemeal process that is explained very clearly. My favorite little tidbit is the news that humans are born one year premature! Most mammals are able to do a lot more at birth than we can and all the reasons why we're not walking around pregnant for 21 months are given in the book. I highly recommend this book.

A must read for every human

Anybody with any interest in what it is that makes us human must read this book. Not only is it fascinating and important, but it's also a pleasure to read. It is intellectual, yet accessible; vastly informative, yet ultimately readable. The diversity of the subject matter and the direct relevance to each of us is compelling. The book derives its content by weaving culture, behavior, evolution, biology, anecdote, history and everyday experience. If you are interested in human nature and how it evolved, read this book. It's going to be a big part of my Christmas list.

Now You Know

Chip Walter takes a compelling and thoughtful look at how physiological evolution has led us to the gift of self-awareness, emotion, and the ability to own our existence. A wonderful journey.