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Since we proposed punctuated equilibria to explain trends, it is infuriating to be quoted again and again by creationists-whether through design or stupidity, I do not know-as admitting that the fossil record includes no transitional forms. Transitional forms are generally lacking at the species level, but they are abundant between larger groups.

Stephen Jay Gould#37

ScienceEvolutionDebateCriticismFossilsFossil record

About this quote

What does it mean?
Gould expresses frustration that creationists misquote his work on punctuated equilibria to deny transitional forms. While transitions may be rare at the species level, they are common between larger groups.
In plain terms
He is angry that critics say his work denies transitional forms, even though they exist between larger groups.
What can you take from it?
Clarify that transitional forms exist between major groups even if rare within species.

Where it applies

  • science communication
  • evolutionary debate
  • peer review

Putting it to work

  • educate on punctuated equilibria
  • distinguish species vs group transitions
  • address misquotations

Questions to consider

  • How do you handle being misquoted?
  • What evidence supports transitional forms?

Another view

This nuance might be too technical for general public debates.

More from Stephen Jay Gould

  1. Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the wo…

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  2. The enemy is not fundamentalism; it is intolerance. In this case, the intolerance is perverse since it masquerades under the 'liberal' rhetoric of 'equal time.…

    Permalink to quote #38
  3. We live in an essential and unresolvable tension between our unity with nature and our dangerous uniqueness. Systems that attempt to place and make sense of us…

    Permalink to quote #35

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