Book hunt
Our mission was simple yet profound: embark on a book hunt, armed with only a scientific principle as our guide, and unearth a tome that embodies or elucidates this principle in its narrative or theme. The principle assigned to me was adaptation, a fundamental process of life on Earth, yet the journey to find a book that encapsulates this concept proved to be an enlightening challenge.
Though adaptation sounds like an enormous topic, it was surprisingly restrictive when I set to work on finding a book that applied directly to the concept. This is when I realized that the activity was doing a wonderful job of forcing me to self-assess my understanding of adaptation. How could I possibly find an applicable book if I didn’t understand what adaptation was? I settled on the book I’m Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton. It was perfect, as it discussed the whats and whys of spiders’ unique traits (adaptations!).
The process of seeking out a book based on a scientific principle encouraged us to think critically, to make connections between seemingly disparate domains of knowledge, and to appreciate the depth and breadth of human inquiry.