#3,276 in Science & math books
Reddit mentions of Why Size Matters: From Bacteria to Blue Whales
Sentiment score: 1
Reddit mentions: 1
We found 1 Reddit mentions of Why Size Matters: From Bacteria to Blue Whales. Here are the top ones.
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Specs:
| Height | 7.91337 Inches |
| Length | 5.1181 Inches |
| Number of items | 1 |
| Release date | December 2011 |
| Weight | 0.45856150496 Pounds |
| Width | 0.4129913 Inches |
There are a lot of responses in here that seem to miss the point and yours is probably the closest to what I think OP was asking. There are two points to be made.
OP is wondering how an animal that eats just plants is massive and muscular. Just as you pointed out, this is a feat seen across the animal kingdom. That answer is more genetic than anything. These two books (clearly not ELI5) would be good places to start for anyone interested.
Randomness in Evolution
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691157014/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2V09RX3M7RNLU&coliid=I3Q99LQHGQEGN
Why Size Matters: From Bacteria to Blue Whales
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691152330/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2V09RX3M7RNLU&coliid=I2ETTWDBXG64G1
Regarding their actual diet: Gorillas have the ability to ferment in their digestive tract so they will extract more from plants than we ever can. This is why we just excrete corn, we can't process it. Their guts are massive to allow for the extraction that takes place.
Lastly - humans are omnivores and our diet, lifestyle, and physiological systems diverged a long time ago. What they do/eat is far, far different from what we do/eat now and anyone making the argument that veganism is more natural is misguided. However, if someone wants to follow that for some ethical reason then there is slightly more merit in that school of thought.