At the conclusion of Paleofantasy, I can say that, like many others, I really enjoyed reading my book of choice. Marlene Zuk does a good job of addressing many ideas that humans have misconstrued to due misinformation or belief, and she does so using the four mechanisms under which evolution may occur in great detail. Zuk's information definitely enlightened me to new views on various topics and provided me with a new way to look at certain aspects of our culture.
My main interest in this book stemmed from the popular Paleo Diet that I mentioned in my first post. Did Zuk address this fad in her writing? I would say yes, but in a different way than I was expecting. Instead of blatantly saying that eating the way our ancestors did is completely wrong, she instead suggested that such strict dietary adherence may not fit well with our bodies today. In essence, she debunked it in a milder form than I thought she would. In her final chapter, she sums up this idea nicely by saying that "sedentary living is clearly linked to poor health, but we do not have to emulate a mammoth-spearing caveman to remedy the problem" (Zuk 270). Basically, we do not need to adhere to extremes for every problem we encounter.
I can honestly say that I have no particularly negative critique about this book. Like I said above, Zuk prevents all information in a very clean manner and has countless sources to back up her claims, but there were certain topics that tended to drag past their informative value which caused me to lose interest at times. I loved how the topics she discussed could be related to everyone in some form or another. Overall, the simplicity in which Zuk presented the information lends the book to all audiences. Paleofantasy allows us readers to appreciate our connection to other species, which I believe is an important link that humans need to come to terms which to facilitate correct thinking of evolution.
Hey Tyesha! I also really liked the way Zuk presented her information in this book. I agree that the simplicity of her writing style makes it understandable to the general public and not just people with a science background, which made it even more enjoyable to read.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you regarding Zuk's clear writing style. It's so important to clearly express scientific findings in a way the public can understand, and pointing out the flaws in a popular diet fad is a clever way to do so.
ReplyDeleteI also liked that she didn't argue tooth and claw against the paleo-lifestyle itself. Rather, she simply pointed out its unfounded logic. Its not the lifestyle itself she criticizes, (as you quote, Tyesha, "sedentary living is clearly linked to poor health") but instead the extreme measures the paleo-lifestyle promotes and the uninformed evolutionary logic it supposes.