Some beliefs may be subject to such instant, brutal and unambiguous rejection. For example: no left-coiling periwinkle has ever been found among millions of snails examined. If I happen to find one during my walk on Nobska beach tomorrow morning, a century of well nurtured negative evidence will collapse in an instant.
Stephen Jay GouldWe are storytelling animals, and cannot bear to acknowledge the ordinariness of our daily lives.
Stephen Jay GouldNatural selection may lead to benefits for species, but these `higher' advantages can only arise as sequelae, or side consequences, of natural selection's causal mechanism: differential reproductive success of individuals.
Stephen Jay GouldTransitional forms are generally lacking at the species level, but they are abundant between larger groups.
Stephen Jay Gould