quote:
The way we see the fossil record post-Gould is this: the species remains in the same spot at the left of the page for hundreds of pages, then there are ten or so pages where it shifts to the center. Then it stays in the center of the page for hundreds more pages, before shifting to the extreme right of the page in ten or so frames. Thereafter it remains at the right of the page. This makes for abrupt shifts when we flip the movie, and the quick transitions go by too quickly for our eyes. Now if we only have ten percent of the frames, the chances that we'll see any of those quick transitions is statistically slim.
It is worth pointing out that Gould is not considered a major thinker on evolutionary theory. Ernst Meyer had already done most of the work on punctuated equilibrium, and the majority view is that, while species do remain stable for extended periods, punctuated equilibrium is not the only, or even the dominant, mode of evolution as Gould postulates.
In fact, Human evolution shows this. From Australopithecus to Homo Sapiens, the record shows not a series of jumps but a relatively smooth transition, as illustrated by the occasional confusions about where a particular fossil fits in the record (for example confusion about fossils on the boundary between Australopithecus and Homo Habilis).
Edited to add example in brackets.
This message has been edited by MarkAustin, 08-13-2004 02:41 AM
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