Camouflage and Colour

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island." - Walt Disney.

Brief:

In our induction week, we were asked to explore the treasure of books by picking up any text from the UCA library according to our interests and then presenting a brief idea about this book to our cohort within 5 minutes.

Process of selection:

I entered the library with an empty mind, having no idea which book I should pick up. Along with exploring different book categories in the library, I finally got stuck in the animal category. I selected a few books of the same type, leading to my final selection - Camouflage & Colour - Strategies For Survival by Liz Bomford.

I selected this particular book based on the following factors:

1. Animals as the category. (I love animals)

2. The book's name is exciting, with the book's concept being strategies for survival - don't we all need that?

3. Beautiful pictures covering the minute details of animals and very well presented, this book has an outstanding balance of visual and verbal content.

4. Theoretical explanation of colours in nature and how animals use their skin colours to survive.

A brief explanation of the book to cohort:

1. Firstly, I explained the pointers listed above why I selected this book in particular.

2. Introduction of the book, author and I stated that this book contains over 100 full-colour illustrated photographs from the Bruce Coleman Wildlife & Travel Collection.

3. The world is rich in colour. It seems with animals, birds, insects and plants of all shapes and sizes, and all of them, from the gloriously colourful birds of paradise to that master of disguise, the chameleon, depend on colour for many reasons.

4. Colour plays a vital role in the struggle for survival in the natural world. It is used to attract species to one another, whether to predate or mate, stimulate fear, warn enemies to stay away, etc.

5. The fascinating aspect of using colour in nature is probably that of camouflage. Misleading body patches, disrupting eye stripes, and cryptic colouring help animals merge into their environment.

6. This book takes the reader on a tour of the natural world, examining the structure of colour and the mechanisms that enable us to perceive the extraordinary variety of colour that is all around us.

Reflective Analysis & Learnings:

1. This task taught me that just one topic/book/concept selection could tell us a lot about others' interests and personalities.

2. I am not a reader, and still, just by skimming through this book, I acquired a brief knowledge about what I was not aware of.

3. As we all selected different books from various categories, I got the privilege to understand unique concepts from each one without even reading all the books.

4. I was acknowledged in the class after my presentation and was asked to check when was the last time this book was withdrawn, and it turned out to be in the year 2010; by picking up this book, I made a quirky selection.

5. Through this task, I understood the method of action research and exploration.

6. This book significantly impacted my mind as it showed me to draw inspiration from nature as it stores insightful knowledge.

7. And at last, I didn't choose the book, but the book chose me.