fraction of the many exciting facts held within the pages of this publication. Gould is able to put what he writes about in words that are easy to understand without compromising the quality of the information. Many questions are raised in this book. Some questions that science just can’t answer at the moment. Time is a major theme in some of the essays in The Panda’s Thumb. I found these essays of utmost interest. Stephen Jay Gould writes as if you were sitting in a chair across from him having an insightful
God. In Stephen Jay Gould’s essay “Nonmoral Nature” (1984), he explores this highly controversial issue by posing the question: “If God is good and if creation reveals his goodness, why are we surrounded with pain, suffering, and apparently senseless cruelty in the animal world?” He uses the life span of the parasitic ichneumon wasp to illustrate a scientific view that the concept of evil is limited to human beings and that the world of nature is unconcerned with it. To some degree Gould may be correct
Pledged: Dakota Frencl Biology in Context, Book Analysis Rocks of Ages The respective areas of science and religion always seem to be overlapping, or stepping on the other area’s toes. In his book, Stephen Jay Gould addresses the topic of Non-Overlapping Magesteria, or NOMA. Gould examines the principles of NOMA as a solution to the supposed false conflict between religion and science. (Pg. 6) He starts off his argument on NOMA by telling a story of “Two Thomas’s.” The first Thomas is from
agree with Stephen Jay Gould’s non-overlapping magisterial, which claims that there is a fine line separating science from religion. That being said, I think the conflict between science and religion is only in the study of evolution. It is possible for a scientist to be religious if he is not studying evolution, because science is very broad and it has various studies. In this essay, I will talk about the conflict between religion and science by comparing the arguments from Stephen Jay Gould and Richard
In Stephen Jay Gould’s essay, “Some close encounters of a mental kind,” Gould discussed about how certainty can be both blessing and dangerous. According to Gould, certainty can be blessing because it can provide warmth, comfort and secure. However, it can also be a danger because it can trick our mind with false information of what we see and remember in our mind. Gould also talked about the three levels of possible error in direct visual observation: misperception, retention and retrieval. According
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 cannot 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
composition by Stephen Jay Gould, the hypotheses of dinosaur extinction are intermingled with the all-consuming thoughts and dilemmas that plague much of the modern society: sex, drugs, and violence. Gould adds the public’s lust for outré, controversial statements with real, scientific inferences. As the world is plagued with questions, the explanation for the dinosaurs’ extinction is still unidentified, but Gould transforms unlikely conjectures into comprehensible, quirky proposals. Moreover, Gould explains
as perhaps the most important aspect to consider when presenting. Stephen Jay Gould, in “Ladders and Cones: Constraining Evolution by Canonical Icons,” claims that, “Scientists hardly ever read; we think through the order and logic of the argument, make outlines and notes, and then speak extemporaneously,” (Gould, 38) and that he, “would have thought that the superiority of such truly oral presentation would be self-evident,” (Gould, 38). Mark Schoeberl and Brian Toon in “Ten Secrets to Giving a
Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) was a paleontologist and his technical research was in the field of evolutionary biology. Steven Gould along with Niles Eldredge developed the theory of punctuated equilibrium ("Stephen Jay Gould"). This theory is a revision of Darwinian theory. Darwinian theory suggests that evolution change occurs slowly over time. The theory of punctuated equilibrium speculated that evolutionary changes does not occur slowly, but rather in rapid bursts over short periods of time;
In Women’s Brains, Stephen Jay Gould analyses Paul Broca’s study of Craniometry and his data that “proves” the inferiority of women to men. Broca claims women are unintelligent when compared to men through his thorough measurement of the brain. Although, Gould shows that these accusations are inaccurate due to fails within Broca’s data collection. Gould says women are not inferior; they are only falling victim to unfair scientific research conducted to prove society beliefs. Although science may
Stephen Jay Gould was born on September 10, 1941, in New York City. As a young boy at the age of five, Stephen went to the Museum of Natural History in New York City where he saw the Tyrannosaurus Rex along with other large dinosaur skeletons. He decided that he wanted to study the fossils and evolution; he began to read up on as much information as he possibly could. As Stephen grew older, he discovered that there was a specific field of study that would fit in with his interests. This field of
Stephen Jay Gould's The Creation Myths of Cooperstown and Edward O. Wilson's The Serpent If only I could have seen the blinding light before I complacently tagged along to Cooperstown with my Bazooka-chewing siblings and sunflower seed-spitting father. I would have loved to have known about the Cardiff Giant and the myth about the origin of baseball during our family vacation, but it was their moment of ignorant bliss and my moment to relish the songs of Helen Reddy. At the time, I was not
AIDS” is an essay written by Stephen Jay Gould, in which he talks about a dangerous disease that is spreading and becoming an issue to mankind, and that it is more of a mechanism than an irregular occurrence which I agree with. Stephen Jay Gould also shares his thoughts on our capabilities with the utilization of technology are boundless; especially when it comes to these types of ailments that threaten our kind, which is something I do not side with. Also, Stephen Jay Gould goes on to say that most
inventions that have come out of technology, many of us would not be here today. How has technology made a difference in your life? Maybe you should think about that question before taking your own decision on this subject. Works Cited Gould, Stephen Jay. “The Terrifying Normalcy of AIDS.” The McGraw-Hill Reader. 8th ed. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 594-597 Selzer, Richard. “Sarcophagus.” McGraw-Hill Reader. 8th ed. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003
firm evidence. In From “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs,” Stephen Jay Gould discusses and evaluates the difference between science and speculation. Gould also examines three possible reasons that could he accredited to the dinosaur’s extinction which are: sex, drugs and disasters. Gould believes that the theory of disasters is the most adequate out of two other theories. This is because Gould believes that the theory of disasters generates tests, which makes a scientist
all see in advertisements and on Google when you type in “evolution”. In stark contrast to this idea of evolution, Stephen J Gould presents a less restricted idea of evolution. He left some of the decision up to chance and showed this theory by discussing it within the Cambrian Burgess Shale. More specifically, there are two main themes represented in this book by Stephen J Gould: showing evolution as a ladder or cone, and if it were possible to “replay the tape of evolution” the results would
The Justification of Science What does the average person think when they hear that an idea is supported by science? Often, it makes people assume that this idea must be objectively true, and will necessarily be more right than a theory that doesn’t have the backing of “science.” While in many cases, objective science really does produce better results than mere conjecture, there have also been influential movements in history that were justified by “science,” but which we see today as unjustifiable
Works Cited Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. A play by Nick DiMartino, Direct. Moses Goldberg. Narr. Professor McNamar. Global Stage Production. WLIW21 Presentation. Class Movie. HSS 100-022. Spring Semester, February 18, 2002. Gould, Stephen J. "Women's Brains." Fields of Reading. 6th ed. Ed. Nancy R. Comley et al. New York: St. Martin's, 2001. India, Sehat. "Women Are Biologically Superior to Men, Say Doctors." http://www.sehatindia.com/NEWS3.HTM Martin, Emily. "The Egg and
Rachel Carson: The Obligation to Endure (pg. 83) When Carson cites Schweitzer, she is referring to the “devils”, or harmful, unnatural creations of man that dramatically alter nature, that often go undiscovered or avoided. She is specifically referring to the contamination of air, plants, earth, rivers, seas, and organisms with dangerous lethal materials. Additionally, Carson is referring to the ways in which man physically alters the environment such as importing plants that are non-native, or
to play god and it caused him to lose his most favorite flower, his daughter Beatrice. Works Cited Hawthorne Nathaniel, “Rappaccin’s Daughter” Ch.6. 2009. Science Fiction Stories and Contexts. Ed. Stephen A. Scipione and Marissa Feinstein. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s n.d 1029-1051. Gould Stephen J. “The Mismeasure of Man” Penguin books Ltd. New York. New York. Robinlea.com. Web. 18 Nov. 2013 Wachtel, Albert. "Rappaccini’S Daughter." Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-3. Literary Reference