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Restless Creatures: The Story of Life in Ten Movements
From flying pterodactyls to walking primates, the story of life as told through the evolution of locomotion.
Most of us never think about how we get from one place to another. For most people, putting one foot in front of the other requires no thought at all. Yet the fact that we and other species are able to do so is one of the great triumphs of evolution. To truly understand how life evolved on Earth, it is crucial to understand movement. Restless Creatures makes the bold new argument that the true story of evolution is the story of locomotion, from the first stirrings of bacteria to the amazing feats of Olympic athletes.
By retracing the four-billion-year history of locomotion, evolutionary biologist Matt Wilkinson shows how the physical challenges of moving from place to place-when coupled with the implacable logic of natural selection-offer a uniquely powerful means of illuminating the living world. Whales and dolphins look like fish because they have been molded by the constraints of underwater locomotion. The unbending physical needs of flight have brought bats, birds, and pterodactyls to strikingly similar anatomies. Movement explains why we have opposable thumbs, why moving can make us feel good, how fish fins became limbs, and even why-classic fiction notwithstanding-there are no flying monkeys nor animals with wheels. Even plants aren't immune from locomotion's long their seeds, pollen, and very form are all determined by their aptitude to disperse.
From sprinting cheetah to spinning maple fruit, soaring albatross to burrowing worm, crawling amoeba to running human-all are the way they are because of how they move. There is a famous "nothing in biology makes sense unless in the light of evolution." As Wilkinson makes little makes sense unless in the light of locomotion. A powerful yet accessible work of evolutionary biology, Restless Creatures is the essential guide for understanding how life on Earth was shaped by the simple need to move from point A to point B.
Most of us never think about how we get from one place to another. For most people, putting one foot in front of the other requires no thought at all. Yet the fact that we and other species are able to do so is one of the great triumphs of evolution. To truly understand how life evolved on Earth, it is crucial to understand movement. Restless Creatures makes the bold new argument that the true story of evolution is the story of locomotion, from the first stirrings of bacteria to the amazing feats of Olympic athletes.
By retracing the four-billion-year history of locomotion, evolutionary biologist Matt Wilkinson shows how the physical challenges of moving from place to place-when coupled with the implacable logic of natural selection-offer a uniquely powerful means of illuminating the living world. Whales and dolphins look like fish because they have been molded by the constraints of underwater locomotion. The unbending physical needs of flight have brought bats, birds, and pterodactyls to strikingly similar anatomies. Movement explains why we have opposable thumbs, why moving can make us feel good, how fish fins became limbs, and even why-classic fiction notwithstanding-there are no flying monkeys nor animals with wheels. Even plants aren't immune from locomotion's long their seeds, pollen, and very form are all determined by their aptitude to disperse.
From sprinting cheetah to spinning maple fruit, soaring albatross to burrowing worm, crawling amoeba to running human-all are the way they are because of how they move. There is a famous "nothing in biology makes sense unless in the light of evolution." As Wilkinson makes little makes sense unless in the light of locomotion. A powerful yet accessible work of evolutionary biology, Restless Creatures is the essential guide for understanding how life on Earth was shaped by the simple need to move from point A to point B.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 21, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 10, 2016
Matt Wilkinson makes the daring step for a biologist of quoting (or, rather, misquoting as we'll see later) Rutherford's famous put-down 'all science is either physics or stamp collecting'. But this risk fits well with Wilkinson's entertaining and bravura style in attempting and largely succeeding in persuading the reader that the biggest shaping factor of many living organisms, including humans, is the ability to move, with all the benefits and costs this brings.
One of the delights for the reader are the number of surprises along the way. In some cases it's something that really should be obvious, but probably never occurred to us - such as the way the basic shape of many organisms with, for example, a mouth at the front has been shaped by the nature of movement. Or the linkage of brain and movement. Wilkinson effortlessly takes us through the differences between walking and running in humans or the various ways that flying has evolved in different species, noting that there now seems reasonable evidence that even though birds mostly don't need to drop from a tree to start flight, their ancestors probably did.
In case we take too imperialistic a view of movement on land and in air as being what it's all about, we also are taken on an exploration of the various different forms of movement in water, and to see how animals that don't themselves move still make use of movement - plus one of the best explorations I've seen of a possible route from water to the land (noting how some land animals have very successfully made the move back to water again). And we are taken back to basics (though not at all mechanically so) with the movement of those most successful of organisms, bacteria
Let's get that misquote out of the way. Wilkinson has Rutherford say 'physics is the only science; all else is stamp collecting.' That change of wording makes it easy to misunderstand Rutherford's intent, which was to highlight that most of science outside of physics was about collecting and organising information, rather than using induction to derive laws and meaning. He didn't say the rest wasn't science, just that it was a different (and by implication lesser) part. Wilkinson goes on to suggest that Rutherford implied that nature was unruly and opaque to order - but that was clearly not Rutherford's intent; his comment was about what scientists did, not about the fields per se.
While we're in the negative, the only reason I didn't give Restless Creatures an effortless five stars was inconsistency. The best chapters are some of the most outstanding science writing I've read this year and I loved them. This comes out, perhaps not surprisingly, in a fascinating exploration of why we have our upright two-legged gait - but also, for example, in a wonderful chapter on a part of the natural world we tend not to associate with movement - plants. Yet as Wilkinson shows, not only are there exceptions like the venus fly trap, most plants make use of movement (sometimes with the motive power provided cunningly by other organisms) to spread their seed and avoid everything happening in the same place. However, there were a few places where the writing lost its impetus and became a little turgid. This tended to happen, funnily, when physics came into the story - the explanations of the mechanics of movement, for example with a bird's wing, were hard to digest, while the chapter 'A Winning Formula' on the detailed mechanisms involved in producing a biological form was by far the least readable.
Even if you feel the urge to skip those parts, though, the rest of the book is so well worth it that I very much enjoyed it. Wilkinson takes a new, refreshing look at the nature of living things, particularly animals, and convinces even the most sceptical reader of the importance of locomotion to both the form those animals take and their remarkable range and variety. For this reason, I can heartily recommend adding this book to your collection.
One of the delights for the reader are the number of surprises along the way. In some cases it's something that really should be obvious, but probably never occurred to us - such as the way the basic shape of many organisms with, for example, a mouth at the front has been shaped by the nature of movement. Or the linkage of brain and movement. Wilkinson effortlessly takes us through the differences between walking and running in humans or the various ways that flying has evolved in different species, noting that there now seems reasonable evidence that even though birds mostly don't need to drop from a tree to start flight, their ancestors probably did.
In case we take too imperialistic a view of movement on land and in air as being what it's all about, we also are taken on an exploration of the various different forms of movement in water, and to see how animals that don't themselves move still make use of movement - plus one of the best explorations I've seen of a possible route from water to the land (noting how some land animals have very successfully made the move back to water again). And we are taken back to basics (though not at all mechanically so) with the movement of those most successful of organisms, bacteria
Let's get that misquote out of the way. Wilkinson has Rutherford say 'physics is the only science; all else is stamp collecting.' That change of wording makes it easy to misunderstand Rutherford's intent, which was to highlight that most of science outside of physics was about collecting and organising information, rather than using induction to derive laws and meaning. He didn't say the rest wasn't science, just that it was a different (and by implication lesser) part. Wilkinson goes on to suggest that Rutherford implied that nature was unruly and opaque to order - but that was clearly not Rutherford's intent; his comment was about what scientists did, not about the fields per se.
While we're in the negative, the only reason I didn't give Restless Creatures an effortless five stars was inconsistency. The best chapters are some of the most outstanding science writing I've read this year and I loved them. This comes out, perhaps not surprisingly, in a fascinating exploration of why we have our upright two-legged gait - but also, for example, in a wonderful chapter on a part of the natural world we tend not to associate with movement - plants. Yet as Wilkinson shows, not only are there exceptions like the venus fly trap, most plants make use of movement (sometimes with the motive power provided cunningly by other organisms) to spread their seed and avoid everything happening in the same place. However, there were a few places where the writing lost its impetus and became a little turgid. This tended to happen, funnily, when physics came into the story - the explanations of the mechanics of movement, for example with a bird's wing, were hard to digest, while the chapter 'A Winning Formula' on the detailed mechanisms involved in producing a biological form was by far the least readable.
Even if you feel the urge to skip those parts, though, the rest of the book is so well worth it that I very much enjoyed it. Wilkinson takes a new, refreshing look at the nature of living things, particularly animals, and convinces even the most sceptical reader of the importance of locomotion to both the form those animals take and their remarkable range and variety. For this reason, I can heartily recommend adding this book to your collection.
March 18, 2018
The topic of this book � evolutionary biology from the point of view of the importance of locomotion � is fascinating, and I can’t actually point to anything about the writing or structure that bothers me. I just found that I didn’t enjoy it. Part of that is probably because I’m not interested in the physics, and though I think HOX genes are fascinating, I’m already aware of them and the homology in them between species.
I think some of the sections on the physics of motion genuinely dragged a little; if you’re into physics, it’s nothing new, and if you’re not, then it’s not exactly the most fascinating stuff. It’s an interesting topic, and Wilkinson writes pretty clearly, so that might be a personal thing.
I think some of the sections on the physics of motion genuinely dragged a little; if you’re into physics, it’s nothing new, and if you’re not, then it’s not exactly the most fascinating stuff. It’s an interesting topic, and Wilkinson writes pretty clearly, so that might be a personal thing.
June 19, 2017
Matt Wilkinsons takes a fascinating look at movement. This is a rather novel perspective of the now commonly boring subject of evolution that injects new life and ideas into the subject. The author manages to discuss topics and provide examples that I haven't come across before in other popular science books. As a bonus, the author also assumes his readers have some intelligence and doesn't insult us by simplifying things too much. Restless Creatures covers all sorts of creatures, from the large to the smallest, and also includes plants which one wouldn't expect to be included in a book on movement. The writing is beautiful, descriptive, non-biographical (thank you!!) and the author has a way with words that adds humorous twists to old perspectives. I found this book enjoyable to read and I learned new things!.
June 23, 2022
This is one of the most interesting books I've read. We really get to go deep into the topic of movement, both in our own history as a species, and in a broader evolutionary perspective. There are so many exciting aha moments along the way, where you suddenly see an animal in a whole new way as you understand the nitty-gritty of their bodies' limitations and possibilities.
I was also impressed with the level of detail and complexity the author takes us through without it ever getting too technical for the layperson. The book does require some proper brain power at certain points, but it can be read and enjoyed without expert knowledge.
I was also impressed with the level of detail and complexity the author takes us through without it ever getting too technical for the layperson. The book does require some proper brain power at certain points, but it can be read and enjoyed without expert knowledge.
June 14, 2018
This was such an interesting book. I knew this book would be quite heavy in terms of biology but it was also quite heavy on the physics, however, I still found it quite easy to read and the concepts didn't go over my head. I felt like I learned so much about the way different animals have evolved in terms of the way they move.
April 26, 2020
A fun and in-depth look at the long history of movement in animals and other creatures.
November 12, 2017
Interesting, and a lot of the material related to my current courses. It's quite technical and jargon-filed for a pop science book, but concepts are briefly explained before analyses are launched into. I enjoyed this, but in small doses.
August 12, 2018
If I understood more of what I was reading, I probably would have given this book 4 stars as it was interesting enough to keep me limping through in fits and starts until complete. Unfortunately, I just didn’t get most of the cell-level evolutionary biology well enough to remember it off the page. I decided early on that I wanted to push on anyway, because there were many Aha’s along the way. I didn’t really understand all the tiny steps to get from slime to the magnificent creatures we are now 😉, but the author’s dry humor and ability to make comparisons that are more understandable helped me get enough out of it to think about. It was fascinating to learn more about the evolution of animals on a cellular basis. I think I will be a more thoughtful observer of animals now regarding their anatomy, its function and purpose.
I think the author’s main point was that the need to move to find food, etc. was the key to the development of brains. Probably the most meaningful part of the book for me was the last chapter. On pp. 248-249, Wilkinson references some landmark studies in psychology, particularly that of Margaret Mahler, saying that the onset of moving oneself has a profound affect on our “relationships with our surroundings and other people�. For example, he writes about the acquisition of depth perception by moving from point a to point b and realizing that the size of things changes as you get closer. It hadn’t really occurred to me that a baby actually needs to learn these things, and it ties in with seeing my 18 month old niece looking at a huge picture of strawberries on my iPad and first trying to eat them, then looking behind the iPad to see where they were. Such a tiny little lesson in growing up into an adult human being, but a good reminder that with each birth, the wonder of learning and using our abilities to the greatest extent is started again.
I must say I did not care for his conclusion that the development of motor transport is responsible for most of the ills of the world, and that we should all go back to walking and biking in order to be truly happy. For such a comprehensive and detailed book to come to such a simple conclusion defies the sophistication of evolution itself. Who knows where or how we are moving in the future, but trying to mimic the locomotion (or eating habits for that matter) of our distant ancestors is surely not the answer to all our woes. They are building blocks, yes, but we must continue to move forward to find out where we are going, not turn around and scamper back! To be fair, we surely would be healthier if we walked/biked more and drove less, but let’s see where that plus technology takes us!
I think the author’s main point was that the need to move to find food, etc. was the key to the development of brains. Probably the most meaningful part of the book for me was the last chapter. On pp. 248-249, Wilkinson references some landmark studies in psychology, particularly that of Margaret Mahler, saying that the onset of moving oneself has a profound affect on our “relationships with our surroundings and other people�. For example, he writes about the acquisition of depth perception by moving from point a to point b and realizing that the size of things changes as you get closer. It hadn’t really occurred to me that a baby actually needs to learn these things, and it ties in with seeing my 18 month old niece looking at a huge picture of strawberries on my iPad and first trying to eat them, then looking behind the iPad to see where they were. Such a tiny little lesson in growing up into an adult human being, but a good reminder that with each birth, the wonder of learning and using our abilities to the greatest extent is started again.
I must say I did not care for his conclusion that the development of motor transport is responsible for most of the ills of the world, and that we should all go back to walking and biking in order to be truly happy. For such a comprehensive and detailed book to come to such a simple conclusion defies the sophistication of evolution itself. Who knows where or how we are moving in the future, but trying to mimic the locomotion (or eating habits for that matter) of our distant ancestors is surely not the answer to all our woes. They are building blocks, yes, but we must continue to move forward to find out where we are going, not turn around and scamper back! To be fair, we surely would be healthier if we walked/biked more and drove less, but let’s see where that plus technology takes us!
June 16, 2021
Matt Wilkinson proposes that locomotion � getting from place to place � is the primary driver of evolution in all living things including, perhaps surprisingly, plants. It makes sense if you think about it. Getting from one place to another isn’t absolutely essential for survival or reproduction, but it does offer compelling selective advantages.
The book is divided into ten chapters. Nine of them trace the evolution of movement backward through time, beginning with human locomotion (walking and running) and ending with the transport mechanisms of prokaryotes � the famous bacterial flagella and the more primitive method of mucus excretion, or pooping yourself along. The final chapter deals with the impact of locomotion on cognition, and why humans need to return to a more legwork-powered lifestyle.
All this is enormously interesting but I am not sure that Wilkinson explains it as effectively as he might. It’s a difficult task he’s taken on and he discharges it quite well, but I often found myself having to re-read passages with close attention and trace obsessively the accompanying diagrams before I understood what was going on. I have an education in the (physical) sciences; I’m not sure how readers without that advantage will fare.
In Wilkinson’s defence, some of the phenomena he describes are very complex and still quite poorly understood. It is only this century, for example, that we have really come to understand how the movements fish make with their tails and bodies propel them through the water. The construction, operation and evolution of bacterial cilia is also, he makes us understand, an ongoing field of biological research.
I enjoyed reading the book and found it very instructive, but I could not avoid the feeling that Richard Dawkins or Matt Ridley would have made a better fist of the subject.
The book is divided into ten chapters. Nine of them trace the evolution of movement backward through time, beginning with human locomotion (walking and running) and ending with the transport mechanisms of prokaryotes � the famous bacterial flagella and the more primitive method of mucus excretion, or pooping yourself along. The final chapter deals with the impact of locomotion on cognition, and why humans need to return to a more legwork-powered lifestyle.
All this is enormously interesting but I am not sure that Wilkinson explains it as effectively as he might. It’s a difficult task he’s taken on and he discharges it quite well, but I often found myself having to re-read passages with close attention and trace obsessively the accompanying diagrams before I understood what was going on. I have an education in the (physical) sciences; I’m not sure how readers without that advantage will fare.
In Wilkinson’s defence, some of the phenomena he describes are very complex and still quite poorly understood. It is only this century, for example, that we have really come to understand how the movements fish make with their tails and bodies propel them through the water. The construction, operation and evolution of bacterial cilia is also, he makes us understand, an ongoing field of biological research.
I enjoyed reading the book and found it very instructive, but I could not avoid the feeling that Richard Dawkins or Matt Ridley would have made a better fist of the subject.
March 2, 2022
This is a story about locomotion of living things from billion years ago until present. This book is heavily themed on biology and physics. It covers many fields of science including physiology, genetics, kinematics, myology, osteology and evolutionary biology. It will gives you an in-depth picture of what life is and how they end up. Personally, I think this book is not for someone who have no background in biology and physics. The explanation given is rather difficult to understand.
From the subtitle it is said that the story of life in ten movements. Hence, the main ideas are separated into 10 chapters.
� Chapter 1: Human locomotion (muscle and bones)
� Chapter 2: How our ancestors became two-legged creature?
� Chapter 3: Locomotion via flying.
� Chapter 4: Locomotion via swimming.
� Chapter 5: How our ancestors turned their fins into limbs?
� Chapter 6: Demand of locomotion (genetics view)
� Chapter 7: Effect of nervous system to the locomotory movements
� Chapter 8: What will happen if the locomotion was abandoned?
� Chapter 9: Adaptation of locomotion in single-celled creatures that contributed to development of multicellular creatures.
� Chapter 10: Locomotion gives added significance to our search for self-understanding.
From the subtitle it is said that the story of life in ten movements. Hence, the main ideas are separated into 10 chapters.
� Chapter 1: Human locomotion (muscle and bones)
� Chapter 2: How our ancestors became two-legged creature?
� Chapter 3: Locomotion via flying.
� Chapter 4: Locomotion via swimming.
� Chapter 5: How our ancestors turned their fins into limbs?
� Chapter 6: Demand of locomotion (genetics view)
� Chapter 7: Effect of nervous system to the locomotory movements
� Chapter 8: What will happen if the locomotion was abandoned?
� Chapter 9: Adaptation of locomotion in single-celled creatures that contributed to development of multicellular creatures.
� Chapter 10: Locomotion gives added significance to our search for self-understanding.
November 22, 2020
This book takes an in depth look at the biology of locomotion and the evolutionary pressures arising from locomotion. The biology of movement from Homo sapiens to prokaryote is presented in detail. Wilkinson looks at great swathes of evolutionary history and geological time and tells a story of the pressures that movement brought about. The prose can be unapologetically heavy at times.
Wilkinson relies on describing hypothetical common ancestors. This becomes more speculative the further back in geological time you go, yet all are presented with the same validity and with the same minutia of detail regardless of age. Misleading at best. I will say these are convincing predictions but are presented with advocacy rather than tempered scientific observation.
The final chapter entitled Locomotive Souls is a brief indulgence of the authour into the realm of psychology. I would have expected a different concluding chapter summing up some of the theories put forward in the book. The call to discard the internal combustion engine is a little jarring, if not comletely unwarranted given the context of the book.
Wilkinson relies on describing hypothetical common ancestors. This becomes more speculative the further back in geological time you go, yet all are presented with the same validity and with the same minutia of detail regardless of age. Misleading at best. I will say these are convincing predictions but are presented with advocacy rather than tempered scientific observation.
The final chapter entitled Locomotive Souls is a brief indulgence of the authour into the realm of psychology. I would have expected a different concluding chapter summing up some of the theories put forward in the book. The call to discard the internal combustion engine is a little jarring, if not comletely unwarranted given the context of the book.
January 18, 2018
A generally fascinating angle on one of the key drivers of evolution, which although I was aware of, had never really stopped to consider in its fullness. Across 10 chapters, the author lays out how the use of movement has driven everything from humans evolving from apes, to how movement may have driven the success of creatures with bilateral body plans. The book can be fairly technical at times, particularity in the chapter on the evolution on flight but overall the book's interesting content and the authors writing style make it worth sticking with. I found that the latter chapters on the evolution of walking, the evolution of swimming and nervous systems the most interesting. Definitely worth a read if the idea of the book interests you.
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September 2, 2020Matt Wilkinson takes a new, refreshing look at the nature of living things, particularly animals, and convinces even the most sceptical reader of the importance of locomotion to both the form those animals take and their remarkable range and variety. Restless Creatures is the essential guide for understanding how life on Earth was shaped by the simple need to move from point A to point B.
Alicia - The Book Grocer
March 27, 2021
Fascinating look at locomotion through our species and others over time - something I hadn't given much thought about previously. Some of the content I didn't understand as well as I would have liked to (mostly around genetics) but what I did understand I really enjoyed and I felt like I learned a lot. Listened to this as an audiobook rather than read it so it took a long time to get through but I felt it was narrated very well.
August 23, 2019
Good read about the evolution of locomotion. Lots of good science about how various organisms evolved locomotion and how some got around without much or any personal locomotion (I.e. plants and fungi). This book had given many ideas of things I could add to my introductory biology classes.
August 16, 2019
Makes a good case.
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October 21, 2016591.479 W6871 2016
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