Thumbs, Toes, and Tears: And Other Traits That Make Us Human
explores six seemingly unconnected but unique human
traits—the big toe, our thumbs, our pharynx, tears, kissing,
and laughter. Each trait marks a fork in the evolutionary
road where we went one way and the rest of the animal
kingdom went the other. Thumbs, Toes, and Tears draws on
complexity theory, the latest brain scanning techniques, new
insights from fields as diverse as anthropology, psychology,
neurobiology, even artificial intelligence, sports medicine
and robotics to reveal a creature that was shaped as much by
its social relationships and internal self-image as it was
by its ability to walk upright, make tools and use language.
As the story of each trait unfolds, the book explores why we
fall in love, why we look the way we do, why we care about
what others think, what motivates our attractions to one
another, the origins of deception, curiosity, trust, humor,
sorrow and affection—presenting a unique portrait of the
human species.