Stephen Jay Gould Quotes

Stephen Jay Gould
American Scientist
Born: Sep 10, 1941
Died: May 20, 2002
Evolution Life People Science Think Time
Related authors: Ben Carson Carl Sagan E. O. Wilson George Washington Carver Isaac Asimov Margaret Mead Neil deGrasse Tyson W. Edwards Deming
When people learn no tools of judgment and merely follow their hopes, the seeds of political manipulation are sown. Stephen Jay Gould
People Political Judgment Tools Hopes Follow Seeds Merely Learn Sown Manipulation
In science, 'fact' can only mean 'confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent.' I suppose that apples might start to rise tomorrow, but the possibility does not merit equal time in physics classrooms. Stephen Jay Gould
Time Science Physics Tomorrow Degree Possibility Would Would-Be Rise Only Classrooms Fact Merit Suppose Equal Withhold Does Provisional Confirmed Mean Might Perverse Assent Apples Start
Few tragedies can be more extensive than the stunting of life, few injustices deeper than the denial of an opportunity to strive or even to hope, by a limit imposed from without, but falsely identified as lying within. Stephen Jay Gould
Life Hope Science Opportunity Denial Few Lying Strive More Identified Within Limit Without Imposed Tragedies Falsely Than Even Deeper Injustices Extensive
We are glorious accidents of an unpredictable process with no drive to complexity, not the expected results of evolutionary principles that yearn to produce a creature capable of understanding the mode of its own necessary construction. Stephen Jay Gould
Construction Drive Glorious Understanding Accidents Own Complexity Evolutionary Unpredictable Results Principles Yearn Mode Expected Process Capable Produce Creature Necessary
Science is an integral part of culture. It's not this foreign thing, done by an arcane priesthood. It's one of the glories of the human intellectual tradition. Stephen Jay Gould
Science Culture Priesthood Arcane Part Foreign Tradition Integral Integral Part Intellectual Done Human Thing
Life began three and a half billion years ago, necessarily about as simple as it could be, because life arose spontaneously from the organic compounds in the primeval oceans. Stephen Jay Gould
Life Simple Three Half Organic About Compounds Could Spontaneously Because Oceans Years Years Ago Began Billion Necessarily
Science is not a heartless pursuit of objective information. It is a creative human activity, its geniuses acting more as artists than as information processors. Stephen Jay Gould
Creative Science Objective More Pursuit Geniuses Than Heartless Human Artists Human Activity Information Acting Activity
Look in the mirror, and don't be tempted to equate transient domination with either intrinsic superiority or prospects for extended survival. Stephen Jay Gould
Survival Mirror Intrinsic Tempted Superiority Prospects Look Equate Domination Either Transient Extended
Death is the ultimate enemy - and I find nothing reproachable in those who rage mightily against the dying of the light. Stephen Jay Gould
Death Enemy Light Nothing Rage Those Find Ultimate Dying Against Who
My own field of paleontology has strongly challenged the Darwinian premise that life's major transformations can be explained by adding up, through the immensity of geological time, the successive tiny changes produced generation after generation by natural selection. Stephen Jay Gould
Life Time Generation Natural Own Field Changes Adding Immensity Darwinian Strongly My Own Through Selection Major Geological Up Tiny After Transformations Explained Produced Natural Selection Successive Premise Challenged
The more important the subject and the closer it cuts to the bone of our hopes and needs, the more we are likely to err in establishing a framework for analysis. Stephen Jay Gould
Needs Important Bone Analysis Our Framework Hopes More Likely Subject Err Closer Establishing Cuts
I think there have to be Bachs and Beethovens. We may have - there are so many more people. Musical training is available to so many more, but it may be that we've hit a right wall in terms of accessible styles and since we demand innovation as a criterion of genius, there may not be more innovative styles to be found. Stephen Jay Gould
Innovation People Genius Training Think Innovative Musical Criterion More More People Demand Since Terms Styles Accessible Hit Wall May Available Many Found Right
The proof of evolution lies in those adaptations that arise from improbable foundations. Stephen Jay Gould
Those Evolution Lies Proof Arise Improbable Foundations Adaptation
I dreamed of becoming a scientist, in general, and a paleontologist, in particular, ever since the Tyrannosaurus skeleton awed and scared me. Stephen Jay Gould
Me Dreamed Scared General Since Particular Becoming Scientist Skeleton Ever
With copious evidence ranging from Plato's haughtiness to Beethoven's tirades, we may conclude that the most brilliant people of history tend to be a prickly lot. Stephen Jay Gould
History People Brilliant Evidence Tend Most Conclude Beethoven Lot May Plato
At a minimum, in explaining evolutionary pathways through time, the constraints imposed by history rise to equal prominence with the immediate advantages of adaptation. Stephen Jay Gould
Time History Immediate Prominence Evolutionary Minimum Rise Constraints Through Advantages Equal Imposed Explaining Adaptation
What an odd time to be a fundamentalist about adaptation and natural selection - when each major subdiscipline of evolutionary biology has been discovering other mechanisms as adjuncts to selection's centrality. Stephen Jay Gould
Time Natural Biology Other Evolutionary Has-Been About Selection Major Odd Been Discovering Natural Selection Mechanisms Each Fundamentalist Adaptation
I don't think academic writing ever was wonderful. However, science used to be much less specialized. Stephen Jay Gould
Science Writing Wonderful Think Academic However Much Used Less Specialized Ever
A lot of scientists hate writing. Most scientists love being in the lab and doing the work and when the work is done, they are finished. Stephen Jay Gould
Work Love Hate Writing Finished Most Doing Scientists Lot Lab Done Being
People perceive me as a commodity. They just don't think anything of asking for five minutes of my time. It never occurs to them that if they're asking for it and another thousand people are asking, I don't have 1,000 five minutes to give. Stephen Jay Gould
Time Me People Think Thousand Minutes Perceive Give My Time Never Another Occurs Five Commodity Just Anything Them Asking
I'm not a great deductive thinker, but I will admit to having competence in a very wide range of things - not being afraid to try to write about baseball, choral music and dinosaurs in the same week and see connections among them. Stephen Jay Gould
Music Great Try Will Range Dinosaurs See Admit About Having Week Write Very Same Afraid Being Being Afraid Them Connections Baseball Among Wide Things Wide Range Competence Thinker
Evolution is one of the two or three most primally fascinating subjects in all the sciences. Stephen Jay Gould
Three Evolution Most Sciences Subjects Fascinating Two
If I don't make it, I'll be very sad that there are things I didn't do, but I'm happy that I've done what I have. Stephen Jay Gould
Sad Happy Make Very Done Things

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