What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins by Jonathan Balcombe

Meeting: Thursday, Dec. 10 at 8PM EST 

  1. Balcombe presents a lot of information about fishes based on recent science. What was one thing you learned?
  2. Did this book bring up any memories of experiences you've had around fish or evoke any feelings for you?
  3. Of all the information presented in the book, what has stayed with you the most? Do you think you'll remember it in a few months or years?
  4. Share a favorite quote or topic from the book. What made this stand out to you?
  5. Was there anything in the book that seems controversial to you? Or any information presented that you were skeptical of?
  6. Having read this book, do you think that the experience of fish can be paralleled or likened to the human experience?
  7. Having read this book, are there new ways that you consider fish to be more similar to humans or less primitive than you previously did? If so, in what ways?
  8. Encyclopedia Britannica defines personality as a characteristic way of thinking, feeling, and behaving that distinguishes one person (or animal) from another. Do you agree with Balcombe, that fish have personalities?
  9. Do you think having read this book will affect your thoughts or behavior towards fish in the future? If so, in what way? Are there any specific ways it affects the way you dive, snorkel, fish, or keep an aquarium?
  10. If you got the chance to ask the author of this book one question, what would it be? (Jonathan Balcombe will be attending the meeting, so get your questions ready!)