Question

What point is the author making by comparing a sea star missing an arm to a human missing a limb?

Answer 1

The author compared a sea star missing an arm to a human missing a limb to show the similarities and differences. When a sea star misses an arm, it can easily regenerate it. When humans miss a limb, they can't regenerate it but the brain changes following the loss of an arm. This means that although the limb is gone, because the brain had changes, you can still feel the fingers.

Answer 2

In this text, the author explains the mechanisms that take place in a starfish after the loss of a limb in order to illuminate how this process occurs in humans. The author tells us that when a starfish loses a limb, it becomes aware of it and is able to regenerate it. On the other hand, when a person loses a limb, he similarly notices its loss. However, he has to get used to his lack of limb as we are not able to grow them back.