--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a graduate student at Columbia…" description: "\"As a graduate student at Columbia University, I remember the a priori derision of my distinguished stratigraphy professor toward a visiting Australian ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/stephen-jay-gould-885_amusing_as-a-graduate-student-at-columbia-univer_2104917.jpg" --- # As a graduate student at Columbia University, I remember… ![“As a graduate student at Columbia University, I remember the a priori derision of my distinguished stratigraphy professor toward a visiting Australian drifter [a supporter of the theory of continental drift]. Today my own students would dismiss with even more derision anyone who denied the evident…” quote by Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/stephen-jay-gould-885_amusing_as-a-graduate-student-at-columbia-univer_2104917.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/stephen-jay-gould-885_amusing_as-a-graduate-student-at-columbia-univer_2104917.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/stephen-jay-gould-885_amusing_as-a-graduate-student-at-columbia-univer_2104917.jpg) > “As a graduate student at Columbia University, I remember the a priori derision of my distinguished stratigraphy professor toward a visiting Australian drifter \[a supporter of the theory of continental drift\]. Today my own students would dismiss with even more derision anyone who denied the evident truth of continental drift - a prophetic madman is at least amusing; a superannuated fuddy-duddy is merely pitiful.” [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques how scientific consensus can become dogmatic, dismissing dissenting views with contempt, even when those views later become accepted. **In simple terms:** Science can become rigid, rejecting new ideas harshly. Key Takeaway Question open-mindedness in scientific debate. Themes science dogmatism history of ideas Mood critical reflective Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - university lectures - research discussions - policy making Key Concepts evolution paradigm shifts academic culture Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance respect for evidence with openness to new theories? - What mechanisms protect minority scientific voices? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on consensus may stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amusing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amusing/) [Australian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/australian/) [Columbia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/columbia/) [Columbia university](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/columbia-university/) [Continental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continental/) [Continental Drift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continental-drift-1392204/) [Denied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denied/) [Derision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/derision/) [Derision Denied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/derision-denied-4222809/) [Distinguished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinguished/) [Drift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drift/) [Drift Prophetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drift-prophetic-4222808/) [Drifters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drifters/) [Evident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evident/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Graduate student](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduate-student/) [Graduate students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduate-students/) [Graduates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduates/) [Madmen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madmen/) [My own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own/) [Pitiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pitiful/) [Professors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professors/) [Prophetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prophetic/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Stratigraphy Professor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stratigraphy-professor-4222810/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Supporter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supporter/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) [Visiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visiting/) ## Related quotes > [My father was an entomologist who believed in continental drift. In the early '50s, that was regarded as nonsense. It was in the mid-'50s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/my-father-was-an-entomologist-who-believed-in-continental-drift-in/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [“Continental Drift you have moved through like an ice flow- steady slow substantial tumble of glacial tongue sweeping through valleys reshaped you arrived on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-boutilier/continental-drift-you-have-moved-through-like-an-ice-flow-steady-slow/) [Nancy Boutilier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-boutilier/) > [“The most spectacular example of continental drift and tectonic plate movement has to be the Indian Plate, a triangle of geomorphic crust which aeons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-allen/the-most-spectacular-example-of-continental-drift-and-tectonic-plate/) [Charles Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-allen/) > [“Black\_Venus: Here it goes: Curious mosaic Continental drift Parabolic metaphor Elemental rift Time and transposition Conscious intermission Assertion? Desertion -- Black\_Venus: That's all I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-anne-peters/black-venus-here-it-goes-curious-mosaic-continental-drift-parabolic/) [Julie Anne Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-anne-peters/) > [We now have many of the answers that once eluded Darwin, thanks to two developments that he could not have imagined: continental drift and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/we-now-have-many-of-the-answers-that-once-eluded-darwin-thanks-to-two/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [I'm a geophysicist and all my earth science books when I was a student, I had to give the wrong answer to get an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/i-m-a-geophysicist-and-all-my-earth-science-books-when-i-was-a/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [“The Ketty Jay was staffed with drunkards and drifters, all of them running from something -- whether it be memories or enemies or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-wooding/the-ketty-jay-was-staffed-with-drunkards-and-drifters-all-of-them/) [Chris Wooding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-wooding/) > [“One day soon he’ll tell her it’s time to start packing, And the kids will yell “Truly?” and get wildly excited for no reason,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-dawe/one-day-soon-he-ll-tell-her-it-s-time-to-start-packing-and-the-kids/) [Bruce Dawe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-dawe/) > [Drifters are people, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-watters/drifters-are-people-too/) [Jesse Watters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-watters/) > [I’m not a poet—I’m a drifter in the arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-mead/i-m-not-a-poet-i-m-a-drifter-in-the-arts/) [Taylor Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-mead/) > [I have a strong antipathy to everything connected with gardens, gardening and gardeners. . . . Gardening seems to me a kind of admission…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/i-have-a-strong-antipathy-to-everything-connected-with-gardens/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [As a kid, I loved to sing along to the Drifters and Otis Redding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-nutini/as-a-kid-i-loved-to-sing-along-to-the-drifters-and-otis-redding/) [Paolo Nutini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-nutini/) > [Hiro is a talented drifter. This is the kind of lifestyle that sounded romantic to him as recently as five years ago. But in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/hiro-is-a-talented-drifter-this-is-the-kind-of-lifestyle-that-sounded/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [You been to school, you say you are a lawyer, you walked out of a magazine. I've been a drifter and a low-life loser,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joe-shaver/you-been-to-school-you-say-you-are-a-lawyer-you-walked-out-of-a/) [Billy Joe Shaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joe-shaver/) > [I've got to get stop getting fired like this. People will start to think I'm a drifter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/i-ve-got-to-get-stop-getting-fired-like-this-people-will-start-to/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) ## 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/) [Explore all 341 Stephen Jay Gould quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## More Amusing quotes > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [By amusing myself with all these games, all this nonsense, all these picture puzzles, I became famous... I am only a public entertainer who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/by-amusing-myself-with-all-these-games-all-this-nonsense-all-these/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [I was reading Neil Postman's 'Amusing Ourselves to Death'. It's one of my favourites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-faiyaz/i-was-reading-neil-postman-s-amusing-ourselves-to-death-it-s-one-of/) [Brent Faiyaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-faiyaz/) > [People of our time are losing the power of celebration. Instead of celebrating we seek to be amused or entertained. Celebration is an active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/people-of-our-time-are-losing-the-power-of-celebration-instead-of/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) > [No one survives in times of war unless they make war their home. How did I get so old and wise, but for welcoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/no-one-survives-in-times-of-war-unless-they-make-war-their-home-how/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [Funny things tend not to happen to me. I am not a natural comic. I need to think about things a lot before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/funny-things-tend-not-to-happen-to-me-i-am-not-a-natural-comic-i-need/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [ \[A\]n Obama presidency would be an amusing approximation of the Carter administration, complete with vaporous moralizing and foreign policy bungling. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmett-tyrrell/a-n-obama-presidency-would-be-an-amusing-approximation-of-the-carter/) [Emmett Tyrrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmett-tyrrell/) > [It's amusing how arrogant people can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-amusing-how-arrogant-people-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Men are not amusing during the shooting season; but, after all, my dear, men were not especially designed to amuse women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/men-are-not-amusing-during-the-shooting-season-but-after-all-my-dear/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [All men are fools, if truth be told, but the ones in motley are more amusing than ones with crowns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-men-are-fools-if-truth-be-told-but-the-ones-in-motley-are-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most poetry is the utterance of a man in some state of passion, love, joy, grief, rage, etc., and no doubt this is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/most-poetry-is-the-utterance-of-a-man-in-some-state-of-passion-love/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [It's always amusing to see how much less the political class knows than the rest of us do. ... it's never occurred to \[the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-d-cox/it-s-always-amusing-to-see-how-much-less-the-political-class-knows/) [Stephen D. Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-d-cox/) > [Are there bears in these mountains?" he asked. His companion nodded. "Of course. But it's a bit early in the year for them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/are-there-bears-in-these-mountains-he-asked-his-companion-nodded-of/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [I always find it amusing to overhear women who have never had babies discussing what a pregnant chick should 'look' like at a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catt-sadler/i-always-find-it-amusing-to-overhear-women-who-have-never-had-babies/) [Catt Sadler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catt-sadler/) > [The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coveyou/the-generation-of-random-numbers-is-too-important-to-be-left-to-chance/) [Robert Coveyou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coveyou/) [Browse all 436 Amusing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amusing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As a graduate student at Columbia University, I remember the a priori derision of my distinguished stratigraphy professor toward a visiting Australian drifter [a supporter of the theory of continental drift]. Today my own students would dismiss with even more derision anyone who denied the evident truth of continental drift - a prophetic madman is at least amusing; a superannuated fuddy-duddy is merely pitiful.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/as-a-graduate-student-at-columbia-university-i-remember-the-a-priori/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Amusing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/as-a-graduate-student-at-columbia-university-i-remember-the-a-priori/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/stephen-jay-gould-885_amusing_as-a-graduate-student-at-columbia-univer_2104917.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/stephen-jay-gould-885_amusing_as-a-graduate-student-at-columbia-univer_2104917.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/stephen-jay-gould-885_amusing_as-a-graduate-student-at-columbia-univer_2104917.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As a graduate student at Columbia University, I remember the a priori derision of my distinguished…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "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": "Stephen Jay Gould", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As a graduate student at Columbia...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/as-a-graduate-student-at-columbia-university-i-remember-the-a-priori/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/as-a-graduate-student-at-columbia-university-i-remember-the-a-priori/#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 } } ] } ```