--- title: "4 Branches Quotes By Stephen Jay Gould" description: "4 Branches quotes by Stephen Jay Gould. Plus more from Stephen Jay Gould and more Branches sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c1/stephen-jay-gould-885_branches_homo-sapiens-are-a-tiny-twig-on-an-impro_444493.png" --- > [ Homo sapiens \[are\] a tiny twig on an improbable branch of a contingent limb on a fortunate tree. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/homo-sapiens-are-a-tiny-twig-on-an-improbable-branch-of-a-contingent/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c1/stephen-jay-gould-885_branches_homo-sapiens-are-a-tiny-twig-on-an-impro_444493.png) > [The origin of Homo sapiens, as a tiny twig on an improbable branch of a contingent limb on a fortunate tree, lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-origin-of-homo-sapiens-as-a-tiny-twig-on-an-improbable-branch-of/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/847/stephen-jay-gould-885_branches_the-origin-of-homo-sapiens-as-a-tiny-twi_449997.png) > [The extreme rarity of transitional forms in the fossil record persists as a trade secret of Paleontology. Evolutionary trees that adorn our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-extreme-rarity-of-transitional-forms-in-the-fossil-record/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/stephen-jay-gould-885_branches_the-extreme-rarity-of-transitional-forms_1589535.jpg) > [Evolving life must experience a vast range of possibilities, based on environmental histories so unpredictable that no realized route - the pathway…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/evolving-life-must-experience-a-vast-range-of-possibilities-based-on/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d4/stephen-jay-gould-885_alternatives_evolving-life-must-experience-a-vast-ran_1853237.jpg) ## Other authors on Branches ## 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/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/branches/stephen-jay-gould/#itemlist", "name": "4 Branches Quotes By Stephen Jay Gould", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Homo sapiens [are] a tiny twig on an improbable branch of a contingent limb on a fortunate tree.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/homo-sapiens-are-a-tiny-twig-on-an-improbable-branch-of-a-contingent/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c1/stephen-jay-gould-885_branches_homo-sapiens-are-a-tiny-twig-on-an-impro_444493.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c1/stephen-jay-gould-885_branches_homo-sapiens-are-a-tiny-twig-on-an-impro_444493.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c1/stephen-jay-gould-885_branches_homo-sapiens-are-a-tiny-twig-on-an-impro_444493.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Homo sapiens [are] a tiny twig on an improbable branch of a contingent limb on a fortunate tree.” — Stephen Jay Gould", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The origin of Homo sapiens, as a tiny twig on an improbable branch of a contingent limb on a fortunate tree, lies well below the boundary.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-origin-of-homo-sapiens-as-a-tiny-twig-on-an-improbable-branch-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/847/stephen-jay-gould-885_branches_the-origin-of-homo-sapiens-as-a-tiny-twi_449997.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/847/stephen-jay-gould-885_branches_the-origin-of-homo-sapiens-as-a-tiny-twi_449997.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/847/stephen-jay-gould-885_branches_the-origin-of-homo-sapiens-as-a-tiny-twi_449997.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The origin of Homo sapiens, as a tiny twig on an improbable branch of a contingent limb on a fortunate tree…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The extreme rarity of transitional forms in the fossil record persists as a trade secret of Paleontology. 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