Customer Reviews

Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History

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If I ever have to prove to my son that science can be an entertaining adventure and anything but a reclusive activity, I will give him one of Stephen Jay Gould's books to read. "Ever since Darwin" is the first in a series of collected essays which Gould originally wrote for scientific journals. Some of his favorite subjects are the purposeless, non-progressive nature of evolution (and why we like to deny this fact), the unconscious reflection of social and political ideas in scientific theories, the explanatory power of Darwin's theory, and the peculiar details of the history of science (for example, why Darwin was NOT the naturalist on board of the H.M.S. Beagle). Gould's essays are always full of surprising details, telling anecdotes and witty asides. He would have made an excellent Enlightenment philosopher because he reminds his readers again and again that reason and the scientific method are powerful instruments - if one is aware of their limitations (for example, the "anthropocentric bias", the belief in human "specialness"). Throughout, Gould highlights the human side of science, and the human creativity involved. For him, science is not a "mechanical collection of facts and induction of theories, but a complex process involving intuition, bias, and insight from other fields". Gould has a gentle humor, and an infectious enthusiasm; he likes to play with words (one essay is titled "Is the Cambrian Explosion a Sigmoid Fraud?"), asks interesting questions, never shys away from the odd detail, and takes particular pleasure in theories that contradict common sense. Reading Gould, I get the feeling that his way of arguing could well have been the way Socrates once talked to anyone you cared to listen: ask before you accept anything as "fact", and be aware of your limits. Or to put it in Gould's words: "I will rejoice in the multifariousness of nature and leave the chimera of certainty to politicians and preachers".

This was a wonderful reading experience. Dr. Gould is a truely gifted writer with a wonderful wit and colorful style. He has a broad range of interests and knowledge and an interesting circle of friends and collegues upon whose wisdom he also draws (Astronomer Sagan, Geologists Press and Siever, were among those with whose work I was familiar). He also manages to approach "accepted" theories from unusual directions, sometimes with novel and provokative results! The collection of essays includes an interesting work on the effects of the personality of the Captain of the Beagle on the formulation of Darwin's theories; a subject that had certainly never occurred to me. There is also an interesting discussion of the human baby as an unfinished embryo, with interesting implications for the upper limit on brain size and for human evolution as a whole. The effect of size on intellectual potential of the brains of different species, for instance ants vs humans, is the topic under discussion in the Sizing up of Human Intelligence. The interaction of planetary size and surface area and the concommitant implications for development of life is the subject of another article. The effect of social millieu on the development and acceptance of scientific theories is also discussed as is the hindsight criticism of "wrong" theories and their proponents. Probably most interesting, and certainly most urgently in need of repetition even now, is the tendency to use scientific "fact" or verbal slight of hand to support social status quo or even abuse by those with a political agenda. Many of the essays could be well used in high school classes to teach and encourage critical thinking and novel approaches to what is commonly held as "fact." I would not just recommend the book to you, I would encourage you to read it cover to cover!

This book offers a dazzling tour of Darwiniana, often as straight history but always in the form of essays for (Natural History Magazine) that are digestible in one sitting. Gould's writing is so masterful and clear that it is simply stunning to read. Gould comes across as a great humanist, respectful of the points of view of others - even the Creationists - and erudite in only the way a lover of knowledge can be. I have studied his writing style for years: it is elegant, spare yet sensual, and continually reformulates ideas is new ways, that is, rarely repetitive. Unlike his later essays, which covered quirkier details in increasingly lugubrious attempts to get at the broader notions he cherished, these essays are fresh and light, in my view amoung the best of the entire series.

As an introducer of popular notions and as a scientist, I believe that Gould will be remembered as a genius. I think he was one of the great essayists of the 20C. Warmly recommended.

Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould is a collection of essays, his first, that brings together his knowledge, wit and intellectual musings to the art of writing a scientific essay as no other can.

There are 33 essays in the tome that are unparalleled and are far beyond any of his contemporaries, but brought to us by his unmatched ability, so the common man can understand his intrinsic intuitive profundity.

Gould brings us essays on Darwiniana, Human Evoution, Odd Organisms and Evolutionary Exemplars, Patterns and Punctuation in the History of Life, Theories of the Earth, Size and Shape, from Churches to Brains to Planets, Science in Society-- a Historical View, The Scince and Politics of Human Nature. All of these are thought provoking with a sophistication unmatched in the realm of science today.

As we read on in the book, we see the knowledge brought to us. Can we who read this comprehend both the lessons and the limits of scientific understanding here? Gould brings us his thoughts, as we read, I can only wonder and learn. This is a remarkable achievement.

One can argue that no scientific theory has caused more controversies than Darwin's theory. Not to mention the history of the conflicts between religious beliefs and the evolutionary theory, many people today still have trouble accepting it, no matter how all the evidences appear to favor the theory.

Ever Since Darwin by Stephen Jay Gould, however, is not a mere collection of praise songs for the triumph of science. In his essays, Darwinian interpretations of evolutionary biology are illuminated in light of the (enjoyable, at least for us) struggles of those thinkers of conflicting theories. Through citing rich evidences in the history of evolutionary biology, Gould emphasizes the inevitability of having human bias in scientific process.

This is a kind of book that I strongly recommend to students who tend to develop a misconception that science exists only to make their academic experience at school painful. Textbooks do not teach science as much as Gould's essays do. Why?

Science often tends to be seen as the culmination of the infallible facts and evidences deriving from perfectly logical thinking by a few great minds. Gould provides numerous examples to show this is not really the case. In fact, you learn that scientists, who are supposed to thrive for objectivity, suffer quite often from their own agenda and intellectual bias. It is as much a creative, human activity as art and literature, and Gould's excellent essays illuminate that endeavor, not just the bits of accepted facts to regurgitate. All this is done via the discussions of various interesting topics from a baby fly eating its own mother to the dubious attempts to link biological findings to justify racial inequality.

The only thing I fear about this great work is that it will inevitably be dated, having written during 1970s. Nevertheless, the essence of Gould's writing should not be tarnished by newer discoveries. After all, Gould's point is to illuminate science as a dynamic activity.

All of Stephen Jay Gould's admirable traits as a splendid scientist, fine historian of science and gifted writer are prominently on display in this elegant collection of essays; the first of many he published from his celebrated essay column "This View Of Life", which was published for over twenty five years in Natural History, the popular journal of the American Museum of Natural History. Gould brilliantly illustrates the explanatory power of Darwin's theory of evolution via natural selection, discusses some of the most fascinating discoveries from a fresh, more mathematically rigorous, approach to paleontology to which he, himself, contributed, and ruminates on the sociology of science in one exceptional essay after another. He does this in engaging, often lyrical, prose, in which he draws analogies from literature, film and baseball to make his cogent points. Anyone who enjoys great writing, especially on science, won't be disappointed with this tome nor the rest in Gould's essay collection series.

A very rare kind of insight into some of the more complicated "scientific cases" and the commoner subjects is presented in a highly interesting manner; the book acts as a scientific food (a shot!) from kids to professors to housewives without technical jargon. Reading this book makes your heart soar into realms of more subtler thematic fields (such as evolution, geology, paleontology) that play an exhilarating and exciting role in our mundane lives to make it rich and vibrant.

As Gould's earliest book, and the first one I readd, this is still a great book. It clearly discusses a lot of evolutionary topics. I loved this book, as well his numerous other collections of essays(By the way, I have read some reviews calling Gould a betrayer of Darwin, which is downright silly, considering that theories evolve over time. Other people have saud he gets out of controversy by labelling himself a Darwin devotee, which is equally silly, considering his numerous departures from central Darwinian theory in later works, and a complete restructuring of the characteristics of evolution purported by Darwin.)

Pieced together from numerous essays published in "Natural History" in the 70's, "Ever Since Darwin" covers a wide range of topics, from the reason for Darwin's voyage on The Beagle, to asking whether or not the so-called "Cambrian explosion" is just a construct of our minds, and critiquing E.O. Wilson's theory of sociobiology.

Gould's writing tends to be more than a little dry and pedantic (or perhaps I should instead say... "Ivy League-ish"?), but this is much preferable to being "talked down to," and is probably the most significant cause of his large fandom (even several years after his death). Gould writes in a way that could please either a fellow museum curator or a science-loving lay person such as myself, and I, for one, appreciate it.

Gould's areas of personal interest (such as science history) and academic expertise (invertebrate paleontology) are obvious here. This book is rife with details about the scientific theories of the Victorian era, and has what may seem to be an odd enthusiasm for snails. Gould's writing hardly touches some of the topics more "mainstream" among paleophiles (dinosaurs, ammonites, quaternary megafauna) and (I'm sorry to say) is somewhat lacking in the areas of human evolution and genetics (even taking into consideration the time it was written). But I personally (as a physical anthropology major) found that even essays on clams, flies, cicadas, etc. helped to further my understanding of evolution in general, and may potentially inspire some useful analogous thinking.

You probably won't want to read this all in one sitting. Though not particularly thick, this volume is still a lot to handle. While Gould's warm, personable writing style and his contagious enthusiasm for the obscure will keep you going, Gould proves that not all "page-turners" have you doing so at a fast pace. Buy this book, and avoid angry e-mails from your library (like the ones I received). I believe one reviewer mentioned having his copy on his night stand for quite a while, and that's the perfect place for it. Read a couple chapters before bed -- it will help you get to sleep. And I mean that in the most complimentary way possible.

Ever Since Darwin is Stephen Jay Gould's first book and is a collection of essays written in the mid-1970's for Natural History Magazine. It is easily accessible for the general reader and covers a range of topics related to Darwin's big idea. Interesting topics include:

- The history of Charles Darwin's life while developing his theory (however, not a lot of details about the findings that made him question creationism).

- The theory of human neoteny (humans retain juvenile ape features into adulthood and evolved by slowing down ontogenic development).

- Human infants as embryos. Other mammals are at a level of development when they are born that human infants don't reach until 6-12 months after birth.

- The history of geologic theories and the vindication of plate tectonics.

- An argument that preformation (the outmoded theory that zygotes were tiny fully formed humans that developed in utero by simply growing larger) was a reasonable scientific theory at the time when it was popular based on what was known then.

- A refutation of the simplistic view of science as objective data collection and theorizing based strictly on the facts. Scientists work within a theoretical framework and are inevitably biased by prevailing social and political attitudes.

- A discussion of genetic determinism vs. potentiality

I am generally averse to books that are made up of a series of independent short articles because they typically fail to reach great depths or reveal great revelations on any one topic, and instead tend to skim the surface of many assorted subjects. This book is no exception to that rule. In addition, it's been over 30 years since it was written and it makes me wonder what new information and theories are necessarily omitted as a result. On the other hand, there is a fair amount of material about the history of scientific theories that is certainly not in danger of becoming obsolete.

There is a little repetition of material between chapters since they were originally written to be read independently, but it is not terribly bothersome. Since I've already read almost all of Richard Dawkins' books, some sections discussed material I was already pretty familiar with. I guess that is inevitable since the information is not newly discovered, this book is written for a general audience, and I've already read quite a bit on the subject of evolution.

This is my first Stephen Jay Gould book, so I can't say how it compares to his others.