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Quote by Stephen Jay Gould

“I emphatically do not assert the general 'truth' of this philosophy of punctuational change. Any attempt to support the exclusive validity of such a grandiose notion would border on the nonsensical.”

Book:The Panda's Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History

Work

The Panda's Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History

This book is a compilation of essays by the author, delving into the intricacies of evolutionary biology and its implications. It offers a blend of scientific inquiry and philosophical reflection, examining the natural world and the ways in which it challenges and reshapes our understanding of life and the universe. more

Author

Stephen Jay Gould

Stephen Jay Gould was a renowned paleontologist, evolutionary theorist, science writer, and academic. He is known for his work in ornithology, paleontology, evolutionary theory, and speciation. Gould's writings and papers have had a profound impact on the scientific community, and he was a long-time contributor to the journal 'Nature'. more

“... many folks take them seriously because they just 'know' that evolution can never be seen in the immediate here and now. In fact, a precisely opposite situation prevails: biologists have documented a veritable glut of cases for rapid and eminently measurable evolution on timescales of years and decades.”

Knows Years Facts Situation Cases Evolution Opposites Folks Decades Rapids Here And Now Biologist

Author:Stephen Jay Gould

“Our creationist detractors charge that evolution is an unproved and unprovable charade — a secular religion masquerading as science. They claim, above all, that evolution generates no predictions, never exposes itself to test, and therefore stands as dogma rather than disprovable science. This claim is nonsense.”

Evolution Tests Claims Nonsense Dogma Secular Predictions Indication Charades Creationist

Author:Stephen Jay Gould

“If evolution almost always occurs by rapid speciation in small, peripheral isolates, then what should the fossil record look like? We are not likely to detect the event of speciation itself. It happens too fast, in too small a group, isolated too far from the ancestral range.”

Ifs Should Looks Happens Records Groups Events Evolution Range Isolated Fossils Rapids Speciation

Author:Stephen Jay Gould

“Sigmund Freud often remarked that great revolutions in the history of science have but one common, and ironic, feature: they knock human arrogance off one pedestal after another of our previous conviction about our own self-importance.”

Humans Self Common Revolution Evolution Importance Conviction Features Arrogance Ironic Pedestal Self-importance History Of Science

Author:Stephen Jay Gould