---
title: "3 Adapted Quotes By Stephen Jay Gould"
description: "3 Adapted quotes by Stephen Jay Gould. Plus more from Stephen Jay Gould and more Adapted sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/stephen-jay-gould-885_adapted_organisms-are-directed-and-limited-by-th_660291.jpg"
---

> [ Organisms \[...\] are directed and limited by their past. They must remain imperfect in their form and function, and to that extent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/organisms-are-directed-and-limited-by-their-past-they-must-remain/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/stephen-jay-gould-885_adapted_organisms-are-directed-and-limited-by-th_660291.jpg)

> [The basic formulation, or bare-bones mechanics, of natural selection is a disarmingly simple argument, based on three undeniable facts (overproduction of offspring,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-basic-formulation-or-bare-bones-mechanics-of-natural-selection-is/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/stephen-jay-gould-885_adapted_the-basic-formulation-or-bare-bones-mech_967330.jpg)

> [Our world is not an optimal place, fine tuned by omnipotent forces of selection. It is a quirky mass of imperfections, working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/our-world-is-not-an-optimal-place-fine-tuned-by-omnipotent-forces-of/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/stephen-jay-gould-885_adaptation_our-world-is-not-an-optimal-place-fine-t_2434721.png)

## More by Stephen Jay Gould

> [I strongly reject any conceptual scheme that places our options on a line, and holds that the only alternative to a pair of extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-strongly-reject-any-conceptual-scheme-that-places-our-options-on-a/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [... many folks take them seriously because they just 'know' that evolution can never be seen in the immediate here and now. In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/many-folks-take-them-seriously-because-they-just-know-that-evolution/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [Charles Darwin viewed the fossil record more as an embarrassment than as an aid to his theory ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/charles-darwin-viewed-the-fossil-record-more-as-an-embarrassment-than/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [Zoocentrism is the primary fallacy of human sociobiology, for this view of human behavior rests on the argument that if the actions of "lower"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/zoocentrism-is-the-primary-fallacy-of-human-sociobiology-for-this/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [The world, unfortunately, rarely matches our hopes and consistently refuses to behave in a reasonable manner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-world-unfortunately-rarely-matches-our-hopes-and-consistently/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [The true beauty of nature is her amplitude; she exists neither for nor because of us, and possesses a staying power that all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-true-beauty-of-nature-is-her-amplitude-she-exists-neither-for-nor/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [With copious evidence ranging from Plato's haughtiness to Beethoven's tirades, we may conclude that the most brilliant people of history tend to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/with-copious-evidence-ranging-from-plato-s-haughtiness-to-beethoven-s/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [When scientists need to explain difficult points of theory, illustration by hypothetical example - rather than by total abstraction - works well (perhaps indispensably)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/when-scientists-need-to-explain-difficult-points-of-theory/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [The truly awesome intellectuals in our history have not merely made discoveries; they have woven variegated, but firm, tapestries of comprehensive coverage. The tapestries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-truly-awesome-intellectuals-in-our-history-have-not-merely-made/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-believe-that-we-can-still-have-a-genre-of-scientific-books-suitable/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [Science simply cannot adjudicate the issue of God's possible superintendence of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/science-simply-cannot-adjudicate-the-issue-of-god-s-possible/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [But if we laugh with derision, we will never understand. Human intellectual capacity has not altered for thousands of years so far as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/but-if-we-laugh-with-derision-we-will-never-understand-human/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [We debase the richness of both nature and our own minds if we view the great pageant of our intellectual history as a compendium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-debase-the-richness-of-both-nature-and-our-own-minds-if-we-view/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

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                        "text": "The basic formulation, or bare-bones mechanics, of natural selection is a disarmingly simple argument, based on three undeniable facts (overproduction of offspring, variation, and heritability) and one syllogistic inference (natural selection, or the claim that organisms enjoying differential reproductive success will, on average, be those variants that are fortuitously better adapted to changing local environments, and that these variants will then pass their favored traits to offspring by inheritance).",
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