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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the ability to design and manufacture tools considered by Wilson?

2. Who is Robin Dunbar?

3. What is one thing that prompted the author to write this book on the hand?

4. How does John Napier identify the terms "power grip" and "precision grip"?

5. What is one thing the thumb is uniquely able to do?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do humans need to move out of the jungle?

2. What are Australopithecines and what is an example of one?

3. What terms does John Napier use that mean essentially the same as "prehensile" and "non-prehensile" and what do the terms mean?

4. Who is David and how is he able to succeed at wrestling despite not being very strong?

5. How is the arm different from the leg in how it is attached to the body, and which parts of the upper body corresponds to the "folding crane"?

6. What does the addition and transport of weight to the body cause?

7. Explain the crane metaphor Wilson uses.

8. According to Wilson, what are the two problem-solving strategies that stand out?

9. What did Herophilus and Galen discover?

10. How did Duchenne demonstrate the physiology of movement?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Anatomically, ape and human hands have been, until recently, considered functionally equivalent by anthropologists. The prehuman arm, however, was considered functionally and anatomically different metaphorically by analysis to a construction crane and its operator.

1. Explain the metaphor of the prehuman being related to a crane. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

2. Explain what part of the body is the crane operator in the above metaphor and how it relates to the use of the hand. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

3. Discuss the following statement in relation to modern human society. When the forelimbs were relieved of the duty to walk on and support body weight, the brain enabled them to become functional in many other areas and skills. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Wilson has cited a number of people in this book. Discuss he following:

1. Choose three people whom Wilson mentions positively and give a brief idea of his opinions about those three people (or stereotypes). Use examples from The Hand to support your answer.

2. Choose three people whom Wilson mentions negatively and give a brief idea of his opinions about those three people (or stereotypes). Use examples from The Hand to support your answer.

3. Judging what Wilson says about different people in his text, how would you characterize him as a friend? As a colleague? Use examples from The Hand to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

The Hand belongs to the non-fiction genre. Discuss the following:

1. Define the literary term "genre" and give several examples of three other genres in addition to the non-fiction genre.

2. Discuss two reasons why it might be useful to label a text by genre and two reasons it might be disadvantageous to label a text by genre.

3. What do you think is the difference between a non-fiction and a novel?

(see the answer keys)

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