Life's Grandeur: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to DarwinLife's Grandeur is abundant with the fascinating arcana of palaeontology and biology, the subtleties of mathematical analysis, and the heroic achievements of baseball players and the occasional scientist. But behind it all, as always in Gould's popular writing, is a passionate belief in the completion of an intellectual revolution. Such a view may encourage us to see ourselves as closer than a gibbon to the ideal of life; but we flatter ourselves. We can and should appreciate human glory in human spheres. But any rational view of nature tells us that we are a simple branch on an immense bush; and that life on Earth is remarkable not for where it is leading, but for the fullness and constancy of its variety, ingenuity and diversity." -- BOOK JACKET. |
Contents
A Modest Proposal | 1 |
Huxleys Chessboard | 7 |
Darwin Amidst the Spin Doctors | 17 |
Copyright | |
12 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Life's Grandeur: The Spread of Excellence From Plato to Darwin Stephen Jay Gould No preview available - 2011 |
Life's Grandeur: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin Stephen Jay Gould No preview available - 1997 |
Common terms and phrases
abstract Adapted American League animals argument bacteria bacterial mode ball base baseball baseball's basic batting averages bell curve better bias Boston Marathon central tendency Cope's Rule creatures cultural Darwin Darwinian decline decrease disappearance of 0.400 domination driven trend drunkard's walk earth entire Equus eukaryotic evolution evolutionary evolved example exist expanding extinction of 0.400 favored fielders fielding average Figure fossil record full house Gould hitters hitting horses human Huxley Hyracotherium improvement increasing complexity left wall life's history limited lineages live major mammals McShea mean batting average measure of central median Mesohippus mesothelioma million Miohippus modern moving multicellular Nannippus natural selection organisms paleontologists passive pathway percent performance Perissodactyls photosynthesis pitchers pitching planktonic planktonic forams play players potential progress random reasons right tail right wall right-skewed distribution sequence skewed species statistical story tion toes values variation vertebrates wall of minimal