--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If Darwin is right, Agassiz argued, then…" description: "\"“If Darwin is right, Agassiz argued, then we should find not just one or a few missing links, but innumerable links shading almost imperceptibly from a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d61/stephen-c-meyer-34460_evolution_if-darwin-is-right-agassiz-argued-then-w_997787.png" --- # If Darwin is right, Agassiz argued, then we should find… ![“If Darwin is right, Agassiz argued, then we should find not just one or a few missing links, but innumerable links shading almost imperceptibly from alleged ancestors to presumed descendants. Geologists, however, had found no such myriad of transitional forms leading to the Cambrian fauna…” quote by Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d61/stephen-c-meyer-34460_evolution_if-darwin-is-right-agassiz-argued-then-w_997787.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d61/stephen-c-meyer-34460_evolution_if-darwin-is-right-agassiz-argued-then-w_997787.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d61/stephen-c-meyer-34460_evolution_if-darwin-is-right-agassiz-argued-then-w_997787.png) > ““If Darwin is right, Agassiz argued, then we should find not just one or a few missing links, but innumerable links shading almost imperceptibly from alleged ancestors to presumed descendants. Geologists, however, had found no such myriad of transitional forms leading to the Cambrian fauna. Instead, the stratigraphic column seemed to document the abrupt appearance of the earliest animals. Agassiz”” [Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Meyer argues that the fossil record lacks the gradual transitions expected by Darwin, suggesting abrupt origins of complex life. **In simple terms:** Fossils don’t show many tiny steps between ancestors and descendants. Key Takeaway Question the completeness of transitional evidence. Themes science fossils evolution geology Mood skeptical inquisitive Type analytical critical When to use this quote - academic debate - lecture - science communication Key Concepts gradualism punctuated equilibrium fossil record Questions to Reflect On - How do we interpret gaps in the fossil record? - Can abrupt appearances be explained by other mechanisms? A Different Perspective The fossil record may be incomplete due to preservation bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) ## Related quotes > [“Cambrian Explosion of the Technium. 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Nature began experimenting with weaponry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-williams/cambrian-animals-were-not-particularly-large-at-first-but-they-were/) [Wendy Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-williams/) > [“And the dizzying arsenal of our modern technology is a leap in innovation perhaps matched in the entire history of life only by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-brannen/and-the-dizzying-arsenal-of-our-modern-technology-is-a-leap-in/) [Peter Brannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-brannen/) > [Evolution happens in jumps, very rapidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/evolution-happens-in-jumps-very-rapidly/) [Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. 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McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/) > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I rap when I'm rich. I rap when I'm broke. I rap when I'm bullshit in the street. I rap about only having one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/i-rap-when-i-m-rich-i-rap-when-i-m-broke-i-rap-when-i-m-bullshit-in/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) ## More by Stephen C. Meyer > [It would be just like programmers to shorten 'the year 2000 problem' to 'Y2K'- exactly the kind of thinking that created this situation in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/it-would-be-just-like-programmers-to-shorten-the-year-2000-problem-to/) [Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/) > [The information contained in an English sentence or computer software does not derive from the chemistry of the ink or the physics of magnetism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/the-information-contained-in-an-english-sentence-or-computer-software/) [Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/) > [“For many, his reference to the work of a transcendent mind merely demonstrated that he was unable to abandon an outmoded idealistic approach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/for-many-his-reference-to-the-work-of-a-transcendent-mind-merely/) [Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/) > [“What is the great difference,” he wrote, “between supposing that God makes variable species or that he makes laws by which species vary?” A”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/what-is-the-great-difference-he-wrote-between-supposing-that-god/) [Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/) > [The fact remains that the materialistic view is a truncated view of reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/the-fact-remains-that-the-materialistic-view-is-a-truncated-view-of/) [Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/) > [“Agassiz trained an army of able young naturalists who took his method to other universities, and they in turn passed them on to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/agassiz-trained-an-army-of-able-young-naturalists-who-took-his-method/) [Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/) > [The heart cannot exalt in what the mind rejects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/the-heart-cannot-exalt-in-what-the-mind-rejects/) [Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/) > [“Those who rejected it wholesale, as Agassiz did, consigned themselves to increasing irrelevance. AGASSIZ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/those-who-rejected-it-wholesale-as-agassiz-did-consigned-themselves/) [Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/) > [“In China,” he said, “we can criticize Darwin, but not the government. In America, you can criticize the government, but not Darwin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/in-china-he-said-we-can-criticize-darwin-but-not-the-government-in/) [Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/) > [ “Darwin’s picture of the history of life “contradict\[ed\] what the animal forms buried in the rocky strata of our earth tell us of their… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/darwin-s-picture-of-the-history-of-life-contradict-ed-what-the-animal/) [Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/) > [“Since the most exquisitely delicate structures, as well as embryonic phases of growth of the most perishable nature, have been preserved from very early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/since-the-most-exquisitely-delicate-structures-as-well-as-embryonic/) [Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/) > [“As science advanced in the late nineteenth century, it increasingly excluded appeals to divine action or divine ideas as a way of explaining phenomena…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/as-science-advanced-in-the-late-nineteenth-century-it-increasingly/) [Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/) > [Everyone has motives. Let's acknowledge that and get on with the interesting part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-c-meyer/everyone-has-motives-let-s-acknowledge-that-and-get-on-with-the/) [Stephen C. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/) [Explore all 14 Stephen C. Meyer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-c-meyer/) ## More Evolution quotes > [I rap when I'm rich. I rap when I'm broke. I rap when I'm bullshit in the street. I rap about only having one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/i-rap-when-i-m-rich-i-rap-when-i-m-broke-i-rap-when-i-m-bullshit-in/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“A question for Christians who accept evolution: When did we gain a "soul"? Did Homo habilis have a soul? Homo ergaster? Did God only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/a-question-for-christians-who-accept-evolution-when-did-we-gain-a/) [David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/) > [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/) Giulio Natta > [“Genetics is a science full of gods, Mr. Sanchez.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sanchez/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Evolution happens in jumps, very rapidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/evolution-happens-in-jumps-very-rapidly/) [Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/) > [The true nature of soul is right knowledge, right faith and right conduct. The soul, so long as it is subject to transmigration, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virchand-gandhi/the-true-nature-of-soul-is-right-knowledge-right-faith-and-right/) [Virchand Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virchand-gandhi/) > [“Toshiaki learned that all living organisms were governed by their DNA. He was impressed by perfection of this system.Why did existence have the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hideaki-sena/toshiaki-learned-that-all-living-organisms-were-governed-by-their-dna/) Hideaki Sena > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [I'm all about evolution. I'm the first person to judge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/i-m-all-about-evolution-i-m-the-first-person-to-judge-myself/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [The next evolution of content marketing is not more content; it's better distribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-penn/the-next-evolution-of-content-marketing-is-not-more-content-it-s/) [Chris Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-penn/) [Browse all 6,185 Evolution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If Darwin is right, Agassiz argued, then we should find not just one or a few missing links, but innumerable links shading almost imperceptibly from alleged ancestors to presumed descendants. Geologists, however, had found no such myriad of transitional forms leading to the Cambrian fauna. 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