Previous
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Hardy was the marine biologist who proposed the aquatic ape hypothesis. Hardy suggested that a band of woodland apes became isolated on an island and adapted to the water, and that these were humans’ predecessors. He noted that humans have no hair and have fat attached to their skin, much like marine mammals such as hippos, sea lions, and whales. This theory is widely refuted by anthropologists—instead, most hold to the more mainstream savannah hypothesis, which states that humans evolved due to conditions found in the savannah and the development of hunting techniques.
Alister Hardy Quotes in Survival of the Sickest
The Survival of the Sickest quotes below are all either spoken by Alister Hardy or refer to Alister Hardy. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 8 Quotes
That still doesn’t explain the lack of evolutionary pressure against bipedalism and the accompanying reproductive risk caused by the change in pelvic shape. Unless—what if the water changed the equation somehow and made the process easier? If the water made the birthing process easier, then most of the evolutionary pressure would favor the advantages those aquatic apes gained from the shift to two feet.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Moalem spends the second part of the final chapter discussing the evolutionary merit of the savannah hypothesis and the aquatic ape theory, drawing on the research by Elaine Morgan and Alister Hardy. They subscribe to the aquatic ape hypothesis, suggesting that humans developed as a response to living in and around water, which is why we have no hair and have fat on our skin (like other aquatic mammals) and why we have downward facing nostrils (which allow us to dive). This is in contrast to the widely-accepted savannah hypothesis, which holds that humans developed in response to the arid Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique prae
Get the entire Survival of the Sickest LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Alister Hardy Character Timeline in Survival of the Sickest
The timeline below shows where the character Alister Hardy appears in Survival of the Sickest. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8: That’s Life: Why You and Your iPod Must Die
Morgan came across the work of marine biologist Alister Hardy, who proposed a theory called the “aquatic ape” hypothesis, suggesting that a band of woodland...
(full context)
Very few people took Hardy seriously until Elaine Morgan, who built a compelling case on top of his theory. She...
(full context)
