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Quote by Neil Shubin

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

This book delves into the fascinating evolutionary journey of the human body, revealing how our anatomy is deeply connected to our aquatic ancestors. It examines the remarkable adaptations that have shaped us over billions of years, offering insights into the interconnectedness of life on Earth. more

Author

Neil Shubin
Neil Shubin

Neil Shubin is a renowned paleontologist known for his research on the origin of tetrapods. His book 'Your genes are talking' delves into the connections between humans and ancient life. Born on December 22, 1960, Shubin has been dedicated to paleontological research since the 1990s. more

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“Each galaxy, star, or person is the temporary owner of particles that have passed through the births and deaths of entities across vast reaches of time and space. The particles that make us have traveled billions of years across the universe; long after we and our planet are gone, they will be a part of other worlds.”

“There's no doubt about it: fun people are fun. But I finally learned that there is something more important, in the people you know, than whether they are fun. Thinking about those friends who had given me so much pleasure but who had also caused me so much pain, thinking about that bright, cruel world to which they'd introduced me, I saw that there's a better way to value people. Not as fun or not fun, or stylish or not stylish, but as warm or cold, generous or selfish. People who think about others and people who don't. People who know how to listen, and people who only know how to talk.”

“Hence the vogue for double majors. It isn’t enough anymore to take a bunch of electives in addition to your primary focus, to roam freely across the academic fields, making serendipitous connections and discoveries, the way that American higher education was designed (uniquely, among the world’s systems) to allow you to do.”

“People’s stories are the most personal thing they have, and paying attention to those stories is just about the most important thing you can do for them.”

“Don't play it safe. Resist the seductions of the cowardly values our society has come to prize so highly: comfort, convenience, security, predictability, control. These, too, are nets. Above all, resist the fear of failure. Yes, you will make mistakes. But they will be your mistakes, not someone else's. And you will survive them, and you will know yourself better for having made them, and you will be a fuller and a stronger person.”