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Reviews
Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters by Marlene Zuk
breadandmushrooms's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
cfinnigan's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
What a delightful book. Informative with a wonderful cast of critters to learn about.
andrea_author's review against another edition
4.0
This book offers a fascinating look at animal behavior and how it evolves. It's detailed with numerous anecdotes and a touch of humor. Though it doesn't have a narrative style, it's easy enough to read. I loved how it demonstrated the pointlessness of the nature vs. nurture debate—how the two work together and can't be isolated from each other.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
teachinsci's review against another edition
4.0
**3.75 stars really**
In Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test, biologist Marlene Zuk sets herself the goal of explaining the evolutionary history animal behaviors (especially ntelligence). She starts off by seeing parameters people don't normally think of... specifically that you shouldn't judge a fish by how well it climbs trees. In other words, that you shouldn't judge an animal compared to humans, but instead determine how they evolved to fill their niche and how those adaptations affect the behavior of the organisms. She then DID compare the animals to humans explaining how insights into humans (at least fascile ones) can be gained by understanding what makes animals tick.
Being an evolutionary biologist, Zuk did a great job explaining how the adaptations she discussed arose. She does this through the use of anecdotes to introduce the behavior and explain how it is studied in that organisms. Since he research is primarily in insects, she devoted a good amount of time to this branch of the tree of life (which is sometimes ignored in favor of cuddller beasts). Some of these anecdotes were humorous, all were fascinating and some outright suggested future research topics.
At times, the book felt a bit repetitive in tone (though not in topic). This lead to me taking it in smaller chunck's than i normally would making it seem like a slow read. It never failed to be interesting though.
My favorite portion was in the section "Raised By Wol es" when Zuk discussed a Russian experiment with domestication of foxes. I first read about this experiment decades ago and thought I ideation it. Dr. Zuk, however, brought it into new light and I felt like I not only understood the experiment better, but domestication selection as well.
I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a deeper understanding of evolution in general and the evolution of behavior in particular. After reading it, I know that I want to take a class in evolutionary biology from this professor.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.
#DancingCockatoosandtheDeadManTest
In Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test, biologist Marlene Zuk sets herself the goal of explaining the evolutionary history animal behaviors (especially ntelligence). She starts off by seeing parameters people don't normally think of... specifically that you shouldn't judge a fish by how well it climbs trees. In other words, that you shouldn't judge an animal compared to humans, but instead determine how they evolved to fill their niche and how those adaptations affect the behavior of the organisms. She then DID compare the animals to humans explaining how insights into humans (at least fascile ones) can be gained by understanding what makes animals tick.
Being an evolutionary biologist, Zuk did a great job explaining how the adaptations she discussed arose. She does this through the use of anecdotes to introduce the behavior and explain how it is studied in that organisms. Since he research is primarily in insects, she devoted a good amount of time to this branch of the tree of life (which is sometimes ignored in favor of cuddller beasts). Some of these anecdotes were humorous, all were fascinating and some outright suggested future research topics.
At times, the book felt a bit repetitive in tone (though not in topic). This lead to me taking it in smaller chunck's than i normally would making it seem like a slow read. It never failed to be interesting though.
My favorite portion was in the section "Raised By Wol es" when Zuk discussed a Russian experiment with domestication of foxes. I first read about this experiment decades ago and thought I ideation it. Dr. Zuk, however, brought it into new light and I felt like I not only understood the experiment better, but domestication selection as well.
I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a deeper understanding of evolution in general and the evolution of behavior in particular. After reading it, I know that I want to take a class in evolutionary biology from this professor.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.
#DancingCockatoosandtheDeadManTest
jmckendry's review
5.0
Wow. This book was so fascinating I had a hard time putting it down. While the author discusses many complex scientific topics regarding the evolution of behavior, she does so in a way that makes it easy for non-scientists to understand.
Marlene Zuk begins by analyzing the old Nature vs Nurture debate, and then going on to say that the argument is futile. This is because the relationship between "nature" and "nurture" (aka genetics and environment) are far more intertwined than many people like to believe. Throughout the book, she shows us examples of how genes affect the way an organism interacts with the environment, and then the environment determines what genes are expressed and when. Genes and environment are not separate from each other, they are constantly interacting and cannot be simplified into a simple question like "what effects an organism more, genes or environment? Nature or nurture?" Instead, genes and environment are engaged in a constant "dialogue" with one another, responding to each other and shaping the organism together.
Another thing I liked about this book is how it worked to bridge the gap between humans and animals. I feel like a lot of times people (including myself) like to think of animals as separate and even "below" human beings. But this is not true at all. We are simply products of our evolution, our genes, and our environment, just as all other animals are. We are not "more evolved" because every living being on this planet is just as evolved as everything else. This book also goes into some discussions about animal intelligence, which ties in very closely with animal behavior which was just so enlightening.
My review contains only a tiny fraction of the amazing things about this book, and I absolutely loved it. It really put things into perspective, and helped me to more deeply understand how evolution acts upon us all.
Marlene Zuk begins by analyzing the old Nature vs Nurture debate, and then going on to say that the argument is futile. This is because the relationship between "nature" and "nurture" (aka genetics and environment) are far more intertwined than many people like to believe. Throughout the book, she shows us examples of how genes affect the way an organism interacts with the environment, and then the environment determines what genes are expressed and when. Genes and environment are not separate from each other, they are constantly interacting and cannot be simplified into a simple question like "what effects an organism more, genes or environment? Nature or nurture?" Instead, genes and environment are engaged in a constant "dialogue" with one another, responding to each other and shaping the organism together.
Another thing I liked about this book is how it worked to bridge the gap between humans and animals. I feel like a lot of times people (including myself) like to think of animals as separate and even "below" human beings. But this is not true at all. We are simply products of our evolution, our genes, and our environment, just as all other animals are. We are not "more evolved" because every living being on this planet is just as evolved as everything else. This book also goes into some discussions about animal intelligence, which ties in very closely with animal behavior which was just so enlightening.
My review contains only a tiny fraction of the amazing things about this book, and I absolutely loved it. It really put things into perspective, and helped me to more deeply understand how evolution acts upon us all.
in2theyears's review against another edition
This book is very informative and I did learn some new things which I appreciate. However the organization of the book and repetition made it difficult to get through. I think I would have enjoyed it more otherwise.