Contributions Of Stephen Jay Gould

Gould espouses more of the ideology of Williams and Colomb regarding why the theories of dinosaurs being incapable of having children and overdosing on psychoactive plants are entirely without merit. Williams and Colomb say, “we engage one another cooperatively in arguments, we aim not to coerce or seduce others into mindless agreement, but to enlist them into helping us to find the best, most reasonable solution to a shared problem”(67). Williams

In the Evolution as Fact and a Theory, Gould stated the differences between a fact and a theory and gave examples that supported evolution. There are misunderstandings between a fact and a theory. A fact and a theory are not in the same group of certainty and theories are used to explain facts.

Charles Darwin - traveled to Galapagos islands to study the Theory of Evolution that states that states that organisms adapt over time due to their environment

In the first chapter, Coyne discusses the basic concept outline of evolution, and brings clarity to the common misconceptions thought and said about how the science works, and the large misuse of the word theory. The first chapter of this book also defines very carefully each of the main hypothesis of evolutionary theory. Which stands in dissimilarity to many other treatments of evolution, which all have a propensity to confuse some readers by integrating different meanings of the word. Coyne also divides Darwinism into six components. They are: evolution which means change over time, gradualism which is a policy of slower change rather than sudden change or a revolution, speciation which is the evolutionary process where a new biological species

He joined Yale University in September, 1716 at an early age when he was about thirteen. He graduated four years later in 1720 as valedictorian. Three years later, he received his Masters degree. During this time, he had kept notebooks that were labeled, “The Mind”, “Natural Science”, “The Scriptures”, and “Miscellanies”. Edwards enjoyed natural history, and scientific literature. He also studied the behavior of some spiders.

Later, in 1909, he worked in research at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts. Just furthered his education by obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Chicago, where he studied experimental embryology and graduated magna cum laude.

Darwin was the British naturalist who became famous for his theories of evolution and natural selection. Like several scientists before him, Darwin believed all the life on earth evolved over millions of years from a few common ancestors. From 1831 to 1836 Darwin served as naturalist aboard the H.M.S. Beagle on a British science expedition around the world. In South America Darwin found fossils of extinct animals that were similar to modern species. On the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean he noticed many variations among plants and animals of the same general type as those in South America. The expedition visited places around the world, and Darwin studied plants and animals everywhere he went, collecting specimens for further study.

Stephen Jay Gould in his article "The Evolution Of Life On Earth" aims to clarify the misconception of natural selection as the sole reason for evolution. Yet, he emphasizes on the presence of other causes and the complex unforeseeable nature of the universe that can not be explained in one theory. Even though the article is concerned with a deep scientific subject and factual information, we see the usage of description in every sentence. Description has an intrinsic role in this article where the uniqueness and the beauty of the language relies on the strong descriptive construction. It employs the power of the language and the readers senses to bring life to the subject. It also simplifies it by liking the described setting or object to something else that the readers are easily able to visualize and associate in their minds. In addition, using specific descriptive words make a statement more dynamic and effectual to the readers convincing them and inviting them to see the situation from the author perspective.( to help convince the reader and strengthen the argument of the author). It could exaggerate the details to effect the readers in a more emotional way and capture their attention. This won 't only engage the targeted audience, but it will allure other readers as well.

At the time of the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species it was widely thought that the world had not changed materially since creation. Creation itself was thought to have had occurred rather recently. The Archbishop of Ireland, James Ussher (1581-1656), famously calculated the date of creation in his 1654 classic work Annalium Pars Posterior to 4004 B.C. (Jones 2005). A biblical interpretation of the history of the world did therefore not allow for the immense stretches of time necessary for the gradual changes advocated by Darwin, changes that would result in the observed diversity of

Unlike the others Gould is able to bring forth substantial evidence that can be expanded upon and tested by scientists. Some of the evidence he brings forth is how the possibility of a meteor strike is not all that impossible.This can be examined upon by physicists Luis and Walter Alvarez “The number of Apollo objects and the immensity of geological time virtually guarantee that impacts will occur once in a great while.”(Gould 17) Further substantiated by the discovery of iridium which is found in meteorites near cretaceous extinction sites. What I liked that Gould does is show that like a good hypothesis it can be tested or disproved. It is not simply what he believes to be true, He does this with a finding by the University of Maryland. “Reporting that volcanic eruptions of Kilauea on Hawaii had belched forth unexpectedly high levels of iridium; perhaps an extraterrestrial source need not be sought.” (Gould

The Scientific Revolution was a period when new scientific ideas where introduced into society. The Scientific Revolution laid down a foundation in which modern science is heavily based on. An influential figure of the Scientific Revolution is Sir Isaac Newton. He made many advancements in the field of science and mathematics, he discovered Gravity, developed the three basic laws of motion, and co-development of Calculus. Isaac Newton did several thing that positively affected the scientific community during the Scientific Revolution and still affect society today, he recognized the three laws of motion, discovered gravity, and co-developed calculus.

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1755-1829) is one of the best-known early evolutionists, holding a belief that evolution was a continuous development and strived toward greater complexity and perfection. Through which, his theory of evolution was that living organisms evolved in a unceasingly up ward direction, from dead matter, through simple to more complex forms and towards human “perfection” (Nesci.edu, 2015). From his theories of Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics; where organisms adapt to their environments and those changes were passed onto their off springs (Corbis, 2001), to his theories of Use and Disuse, where organisms that are not used progressively disappear (Evolution.berkeley.edu, 2015). Lamarck was the first biologist to publish

An opposing theory, punctuated equilibrium shows society’s changes as happening very unexpectedly and having great effect. Although originated by Ernest Mayr, this theory was first introduced by Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould in 1972(Science.jrank.org). These two paleontologists wrote a paper which established the foundation of this theory(Academic Room). “Mayr later complimented Eldredge and Gould's paper, stating that evolutionary stasis had been "unexpected by most evolutionary biologists" and that punctuated equilibrium "had a major impact on paleontology and evolutionary biology”(Academic Room).

Sir Isaac Newton once said, “We build too many walls and not enough bridges.” Aside from his countless contributions to the worlds of math and science, this may be his most important quote because it is what he based his life on—building bridges of knowledge. Throughout his life he was devoted to expanding his and others knowledge past previously known realms. Often regarded of the father of calculus, Newton contributed many notable ideas and functions to the world through his creation of calculus and the various divisions of calculus. Namely, Newton built upon the works of great mathematicians before him through their use of geometry, arithmetic and algebra to create a much more complex field that could explain many more processes in

Many knowledge claims in human and natural science are based on theories. Jean Lamarck proposed the theory of evolution in 1801. The theory of evolution proposed by Lamarck was based on the idea that organisms had to change their behavior to survive. For instance, if a giraffe stretched it neck for a long period of time to reach the leaves as the top of the tree, then a “nervous fluid” would flow in the neck and make it longer. Thus, its