THE LEFT RECURRENT LARYNGEAL NERVE: A POOR DESIGN?
The left recurrent laryngeal nerve proceeds from the brain down the spine, goes around the aorta and then is routed back up to the larynx. This is cited as an example of poor design by Richard Dawkins and was one of the things that convinced him that living things are just a collection of evolutionary mistakes. But I issue a challenge to Dawkins to surgically reroute this nerve, shorten it and as a result improve a person’s speech and voice.