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May 20, 2002


The scientist and writer, Stephen Jay Gould, died on May 20, 2002. His was a rare ability to convey clearly, complex scientific ideas. For instance in this quote he has to explain how the discoverer of natural selection accounted for the fact the cat has seen little variation physically, throughout the centuries while some other animals showed more variability in species change. Gould quotes Darwin in "The Origin of the Species":

"Although I do not doubt that some domestic animals vary less than others, yet the rarity or absence of distinct breeds of the cat...may be attributed in main part to selection not having been brought into play: in cats from the difficulty of pairing them..."

Just because I don't understand all this,(the difficulty of pairing them?) doesn't mean Gould is not a clear writer. Of Darwin's argument above, Gould counts it a rare instance of Darwin resorting to special pleading.

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