Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #421761 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-05
• Released on: 2008-02-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Humans are the only creatures that cry for both grief and happiness, although many animals shed tears that help protect their eyes. As science journalist and former CNN bureau chief Walter tells readers in this fascinating and superbly written book, there are a handful of characteristics (like crying) that distinguish us from the rest of the animal kingdom and can be explained in evolutionary terms as having been advantageous for our distant ancestors. Laughter is one: dogs may bark happily when they get to go for a ride or play with their canine neighbors, but only humans break into chortles and guffaws. Walter (who coauthored I'm Working on That with William Shatner) says that laughter helps us bond with our friends and co-workers. He points out that we give our big toe little thought until we stub it, but its evolution allowed Homo erectus to stand upright millions of years ago and led to other helpful evolutionary features, like the pharynx—which in turn made speech possible. Readers also learn why we tousle our children's hair, why kissing is so much fun and what may lie ahead as we near the end of our current evolutionary reel. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
A science journalist tours a suite of characteristics, both anatomical and behavioral, that typify human beings. Such excursions often concentrate on a single trait (e.g., Craig Stanford's Upright, 2003), so Walter is gathering many topics under one roof. Two of them his readers can consult directly: the big toe and the thumb. His discussion covers their functions, considered against the evolutionary advantages they might have conferred on the African savanna. In that vein, Walter presents paleoanthropology and famous fossils such as Lucy. He also directs attention to the applicability of genetics and neurobiology to unique human qualities, especially brain size. Its increase through the series of hominid species guides Walter's exploration of the ramifications of humans' large brain, such as self-awareness, language, and emotion. For those who wonder if talking and crying have evolutionary origins and survival benefits, Walter points to scientists active in researching such questions. A fluid introduction to the development of the human species. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Praise for Thumbs, Toes, and Tears (A Book Sense pick):

“With a story teller's skill Chip Walter urges us to see how great things come from small beginnings. He refreshingly points out that while ideas have consequences, so do big toes, opposable thumbs and four other human traits that, mostly, we take for granted. We may have much in common with the animal world, but thanks to an unlikely collision of seemingly small evolutionary changes something extraordinary happened -- the human race. A fascinating read.”—Michael S. Gazzaniga, Ph.D. Director, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, and author of The Ethical Brain

Customer Reviews

Lots of "Wow" Moments
Some very smart folks have been thinking deep thoughts about human evolution, and Walter's book appears (to this lay person) to chronicle the latest and greatest theories of how we became who and what we are. I experienced repeated "wow" moments during my reading of this book, because the ideas presented (elegantly by Walter) concerning the development of the human body, brain, character, culture, etc. are not only clever, insightful and plausibly correct, but also profound, beautiful, and mind-blowing.

All the Things We Are
How do toes rate a spot in the title? As Chip Walker says "The same big toe made thumbs - and the tools they fashioned - possible, which led to the evolution of language, arguably the greatest tool of all." Mind you, he said this after spending 200 pages justifying it.

The big toes of apes are toward the side, rather like thumbs, and are used for grasping branches while climbing. Humans' big toes are in the front and support our striding walk. As Walter points out, this doesn't necessarily involve major genetic change; a small change in a regulatory gene, such as a Hox gene, could have made most of the difference.

Once our ancestors were walking upright, their hands were free to make and use tools, to carry food and tools, and to gesture to others while walking. This new posture led to changes in the shape of the neck. This increased the range of vocal sounds our ancestors could make. After further evolution, each of us is born with the capacity to make all of the sounds in all of human language.

Walter brings up the hypothesis that language began with gestures and only later was connected with speech. This may sound far-fetched to some, but humans communicate with gestures and speech together, so it would have been easy for gesture-language to give rise to speech-language.

From toes to speech covers the first half of the book. This is in 3 sections: "Toes", "Thumbs", and "Pharynx". Then come "Laughter", "Tears", and "The Language of Lips". 4 of these are obvious, but "Pharynx" deals with language and with the nature of consciousness, and "Lips" covers a wide range of topics, including kissing, pheromones, and why women prefer big, strong men.
There is also a short, mostly speculative section about current topics, such as why men are better at math and women at language.

There is much here that is well established, but there is also much that is hypothetical or even speculative. For example, the importance of big toes for upright walking is well established, while the question of whether men are better at math and women at language is still being debated. Fortunately, Walter points out the uncertainties frequently. We read "says", "thinks", "believes" and so on. Too often, science writers report unverified results and researchers' interpretations as if they were established facts. Walter lets a few such items slip by, but he's generally more careful.

Thumbs, Toes, and Tears covers a lot of territory that doesn't leave a lot of room for in-depth analysis. The goal is for the reader to see that all the many pieces fit together into one picture. We know the pieces must because WE are the picture. Walter himself describes the main fun of the book: "I do hope that the science in the book can help curious mainstream readers learn something interesting and thought-provoking about themselves. I want them to have those `Ah-ha' moments.' (Walter, W.J., Jr., personal communication.) I had several of those moments myself, and I am a fairly advanced reader.

There is a final chapter, "Cyber sapiens", about our species' bionic future, which should stimulate a lot of thinking. Walter doesn't go into the area I find more exciting: genetic engineering. For a few thousand years men have been genetically modifying crops, livestock, and pets using techniques that have been in nature for hundreds of million years. Now a few labs are working out how to create new genes. There's not much to say yet, but it's worth thinking about how both bionics and genetic engineering will affect society. Will the new technology be available, or will the super-rich make of their descendants a new Master Race of ubermenschen?

It is not a criticism to say that much of the material is uncertain; it is one of the strengths of the book. Science starts with speculation, with scientists asking questions. Questions lead to testable hypotheses and testing sorts out the ideas that work from those that don't. Eventually there is solid, established theory. Walter gives a look at the beginnings of a science of the human mind. perhaps some of the younger readers will be inspired to join this quest.

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