--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the entire course of evolution were…" description: "\"“If the entire course of evolution were compressed into a single year, the earliest bacteria would appear at the end of March, but we wouldn't see the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/jerry-a-coyne-13913_analogy_if-the-entire-course-of-evolution-were-c_2211461.jpg" --- # If the entire course of evolution were compressed into a… ![“If the entire course of evolution were compressed into a single year, the earliest bacteria would appear at the end of March, but we wouldn't see the first human ancestors until 6 a.m. on December 31st. The golden age of Greece, about 500 BCE, would occur just thirty seconds before midnight.” quote by Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/jerry-a-coyne-13913_analogy_if-the-entire-course-of-evolution-were-c_2211461.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/jerry-a-coyne-13913_analogy_if-the-entire-course-of-evolution-were-c_2211461.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/jerry-a-coyne-13913_analogy_if-the-entire-course-of-evolution-were-c_2211461.jpg) > ““If the entire course of evolution were compressed into a single year, the earliest bacteria would appear at the end of March, but we wouldn't see the first human ancestors until 6 a.m. on December 31st. The golden age of Greece, about 500 BCE, would occur just thirty seconds before midnight.”” [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human evolution occupies a tiny fraction of Earth's history, emphasizing our brief existence. **In simple terms:** Humans appear very late in Earth's timeline. Key Takeaway Recognize life's fleeting nature. Themes evolution time humility Mood reflective humbling Type educational scientific When to use this quote - education - public talks - science museums - personal reflection Key Concepts cosmology anthropology Questions to Reflect On - How does this perspective affect your daily choices? - What responsibilities arise from recognizing our brief tenure? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify complex evolutionary processes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Analogy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analogy/) [Bce Occur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bce-occur-4898959/) [Earliest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earliest/) [Earliest Bacteria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earliest-bacteria-4898957/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Golden age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golden-age/) [Human Ancestors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-ancestors-801021/) [Human history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-history/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Year Earliest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/year-earliest-4898958/) ## Related quotes > [It is now generally accepted that the roots of our ethics lie in patterns of behavior that evolved among our pre-human ancestors, the social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/it-is-now-generally-accepted-that-the-roots-of-our-ethics-lie-in/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [You are human, whether your ancestors come from Europe, Asia, Africa, or wherever, shamanism once existed there. We are just attempting to go home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harner/you-are-human-whether-your-ancestors-come-from-europe-asia-africa-or/) [Michael Harner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-harner/) > [Humans are upsetting a fragile balance that their own human ancestors established.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-vinge/humans-are-upsetting-a-fragile-balance-that-their-own-human-ancestors/) [Joan D. Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-vinge/) > [I was being groomed as an undergraduate to specialize in Midwestern prehistory, but going back to my teenage days, my interest has always been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/i-was-being-groomed-as-an-undergraduate-to-specialize-in-midwestern/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [“We know very well that we have ancestors. But our ancestors are not only human. We have animal ancestors; we have plant ancestors; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/we-know-very-well-that-we-have-ancestors-but-our-ancestors-are-not/) [Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [Music may be the activity that prepared our pre-human ancestors for speech communication and for the very cognitive, representational flexibility necessary to become humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/music-may-be-the-activity-that-prepared-our-pre-human-ancestors-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Lucy brought with her an image of our human ancestors that you don't get when you find a jaw or an arm bone or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/lucy-brought-with-her-an-image-of-our-human-ancestors-that-you-don-t/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [“When our earliest human ancestors left the trees and moved to the open grasslands of the savanna, they adopted an upright stance. Possessing already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/when-our-earliest-human-ancestors-left-the-trees-and-moved-to-the/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Actually, scientists don't know exactly how lice jumped from gorillas to our human ancestors. They speculate that we may have eaten them or perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziya-tong/actually-scientists-don-t-know-exactly-how-lice-jumped-from-gorillas/) [Ziya Tong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziya-tong/) > [“It is hard for us to imagine now, but our earliest human ancestors who ventured out onto the grasslands of East Africa some six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/it-is-hard-for-us-to-imagine-now-but-our-earliest-human-ancestors-who/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [My own journey in becoming a poet began with memory - with the need to record and hold on to what was being lost.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-trethewey/my-own-journey-in-becoming-a-poet-began-with-memory-with-the-need-to/) [Natasha Trethewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-trethewey/) > [“The earliest form of natural selection was simply a selection of stable forms and a rejection of unstable ones. There is no mystery about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-earliest-form-of-natural-selection-was-simply-a-selection-of/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [From its earliest days in the nineteenth century, and until the Holocaust, the Orthodox rabbinate in eastern Europe was not enthusiastic about the Zionist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/from-its-earliest-days-in-the-nineteenth-century-and-until-the/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [One of my earliest memories is being backstage at 'Bran Nue Dae' in Darwin when I was about eight. It's such a fun, happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shari-sebbens/one-of-my-earliest-memories-is-being-backstage-at-bran-nue-dae-in/) [Shari Sebbens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shari-sebbens/) > [It turns out that this part of the brain is one of the first areas that's attacked by Alzheimer's disease. So we can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-keefe/it-turns-out-that-this-part-of-the-brain-is-one-of-the-first-areas/) [John O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-keefe/) ## More by Jerry A. Coyne > [In the end theologians are jealous of science, for they are aware that it has greater authority than do their own ways of finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/in-the-end-theologians-are-jealous-of-science-for-they-are-aware-that/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Evolution tells us where we came from, not where we can go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/evolution-tells-us-where-we-came-from-not-where-we-can-go/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“Many people require more than just evidence before they’ll accept evolution. To these folks, evolution raises such profound questions of purpose, morality, and meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/many-people-require-more-than-just-evidence-before-they-ll-accept/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“since many traits can affect an individual's adaptation to it's environment (it's "fitness") natural selection can over eons sculpt an animal or plant into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/since-many-traits-can-affect-an-individual-s-adaptation-to-it-s/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [These mysteries about how we evolved should not distract us from the indisputable fact that we did evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/these-mysteries-about-how-we-evolved-should-not-distract-us-from-the/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Some believers are fundamentalists about everything, but every believer is a fundamentalist about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/some-believers-are-fundamentalists-about-everything-but-every/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“In science's pecking order, evolutionary biology lurks somewhere near the bottom, far closer to phrenology than to physics. For evolutionary biology is a historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/in-science-s-pecking-order-evolutionary-biology-lurks-somewhere-near/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Theology is the post hoc rationalization of what you want to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/theology-is-the-post-hoc-rationalization-of-what-you-want-to-believe/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“There is an increasing (and disturbing) tendency of psychologists, biologists, and philosophers to Darwinize every aspect of human behavior, turning its study into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/there-is-an-increasing-and-disturbing-tendency-of-psychologists/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Can a geology teacher blithely tell his students that the earth is flat, or a European history professor that the Holocaust didn't happen? That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/can-a-geology-teacher-blithely-tell-his-students-that-the-earth-is/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“Life on earth evolved gradually beginning with one primitive life form – perhaps a self-replicating molecule – that lived more than 3.5 billion years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/life-on-earth-evolved-gradually-beginning-with-one-primitive-life/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Science has only two things to contribute to religion: an analysis of the evolutionary, cultural, and psychological basis for believing things that aren't true,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/science-has-only-two-things-to-contribute-to-religion-an-analysis-of/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“IDers argue that such traits, involving many parts that must cooperate for that trait to function at all, defy Darwinian explanation. Therefore, by default,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/iders-argue-that-such-traits-involving-many-parts-that-must-cooperate/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“Natural selection is not a master engineer, but a tinkerer. It doesn't produce the absolute perfection achievable by a designer starting from scratch, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/natural-selection-is-not-a-master-engineer-but-a-tinkerer-it-doesn-t/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [“Selection is both revolutionary and disturbing for the same reason: it explains apparent design in nature by a purely materialistic process that doesn't require…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/selection-is-both-revolutionary-and-disturbing-for-the-same-reason-it/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) [Explore all 48 Jerry A. Coyne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) ## More Analogy quotes > [“One use of the argument from analogy is found in response to the question of what or who created the universe. Some have argued…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-klein/one-use-of-the-argument-from-analogy-is-found-in-response-to-the/) [Daniel Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-klein/) > [“Memory in the mind of man can adapt to the worst conditions. I'll give you an example, an analogy of sorts: Each night I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-thurber/memory-in-the-mind-of-man-can-adapt-to-the-worst-conditions-i-ll-give/) [Bob Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-thurber/) > [Historical analogy is the last refuge of people who can't grasp the current situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/historical-analogy-is-the-last-refuge-of-people-who-can-t-grasp-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One good analogy is worth three hours discussion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-good-analogy-is-worth-three-hours-discussion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The nude does not simply represent the body, but relates it, by analogy, to all structures that have become part of our imaginative experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/the-nude-does-not-simply-represent-the-body-but-relates-it-by-analogy/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [E-books are impervious to analogy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/e-books-are-impervious-to-analogy/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [“Yeast is to flour as action is to ambition. Rising to success requires adding and alternating starters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-lilly/yeast-is-to-flour-as-action-is-to-ambition-rising-to-success-requires/) [Ryan Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-lilly/) > [“There is a saying: in the kingdom of the blind, the one eyed man is king. I promptly invented its analogy, based it on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/there-is-a-saying-in-the-kingdom-of-the-blind-the-one-eyed-man-is/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [There is then no analogy whatever between the operations of the Chess-Player, and those of the calculating machine of Mr. Babbage , and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/there-is-then-no-analogy-whatever-between-the-operations-of-the-chess/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [The real achievement in discoveries... is seeing an analogy where no one saw one before... The essence of discovery is that unlikely marriage of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-real-achievement-in-discoveries-is-seeing-an-analogy-where-no-one/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [The analogy I use is that 'World of Warcraft' is like going to the mall: you see a ton of people there, but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-romero/the-analogy-i-use-is-that-world-of-warcraft-is-like-going-to-the-mall/) [John Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-romero/) > [Life is like an analogy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-allston/life-is-like-an-analogy/) [Aaron Allston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-allston/) > [People sometimes say, "Isn't it boring, isn't it always the same? It's the same lines." I go, "Well, do you play tennis? Because that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/people-sometimes-say-isn-t-it-boring-isn-t-it-always-the-same-it-s/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [I do not understand this analogy," Mencheres muttered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/i-do-not-understand-this-analogy-mencheres-muttered/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [“After Jesus showed up, the Old Testament basically became a way for Bible publishers to keep their word count up. Of course, just because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/after-jesus-showed-up-the-old-testament-basically-became-a-way-for/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) [Browse all 160 Analogy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analogy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If the entire course of evolution were compressed into a single year, the earliest bacteria would appear at the end of March, but we wouldn't see the first human ancestors until 6 a.m. on December 31st. The golden age of Greece, about 500 BCE, would occur just thirty seconds before midnight.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jerry A. Coyne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/if-the-entire-course-of-evolution-were-compressed-into-a-single-year/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Analogy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/if-the-entire-course-of-evolution-were-compressed-into-a-single-year/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/jerry-a-coyne-13913_analogy_if-the-entire-course-of-evolution-were-c_2211461.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/jerry-a-coyne-13913_analogy_if-the-entire-course-of-evolution-were-c_2211461.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/478/jerry-a-coyne-13913_analogy_if-the-entire-course-of-evolution-were-c_2211461.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If the entire course of evolution were compressed into a single year, the earliest bacteria would appear at…” — Jerry A. Coyne", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jerry A. Coyne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If the entire course of evolution...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/if-the-entire-course-of-evolution-were-compressed-into-a-single-year/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/if-the-entire-course-of-evolution-were-compressed-into-a-single-year/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```