--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Paleontologists [fossil experts] have…" description: "\"Paleontologists [fossil experts] have paid an exorbitant price for Darwin's argument. We fancy ourselves as the only true students of life's history, y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/345/stephen-jay-gould-885_accounts_paleontologists-fossil-experts-have-paid_1303150.jpg" --- # Paleontologists \[fossil experts\] have paid an exorbitant… ![“Paleontologists [fossil experts] have paid an exorbitant price for Darwin's argument. We fancy ourselves as the only true students of life's history, yet to preserve our favored account of evolution by natural selection we view our data as so bad that we almost never see the very process we…” quote by Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/345/stephen-jay-gould-885_accounts_paleontologists-fossil-experts-have-paid_1303150.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/345/stephen-jay-gould-885_accounts_paleontologists-fossil-experts-have-paid_1303150.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/345/stephen-jay-gould-885_accounts_paleontologists-fossil-experts-have-paid_1303150.jpg) > “Paleontologists \[fossil experts\] have paid an exorbitant price for Darwin's argument. We fancy ourselves as the only true students of life's history, yet to preserve our favored account of evolution by natural selection we view our data as so bad that we almost never see the very process we profess to study.” [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. Scientists often ignore data that contradict their favored theories, limiting understanding. **In simple terms:** Scientists may overlook contradictory evidence. Key Takeaway Seek evidence beyond confirming bias. Themes science bias evolution methodology Mood skeptical inquisitive Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - research design - peer review - education - public policy Key Concepts confirmation bias philosophy of science data interpretation Questions to Reflect On - How can we guard against selective data use? - What mechanisms reduce confirmation bias? A Different Perspective Bias can blind us to alternative explanations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Experts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Natural selection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-selection/) [Paleontologists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paleontologists/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Stasis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stasis/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) ## Related quotes > [The observation that species are amazingly conservative and static entities throughout long periods of time has all the qualities of the emperor's new clothes:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niles-eldredge/the-observation-that-species-are-amazingly-conservative-and-static/) [Niles Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niles-eldredge/) > [Darwin's prediction of rampant, albeit gradual, change affecting all lineages through time is refuted. The record is there, and the record speaks for tremendous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niles-eldredge/darwin-s-prediction-of-rampant-albeit-gradual-change-affecting-all/) [Niles Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niles-eldredge/) > [Since we proposed punctuated equilibria to explain trends, it is infuriating to be quoted again and again by creationists-whether through design or stupidity, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/since-we-proposed-punctuated-equilibria-to-explain-trends-it-is/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [“A geneticist is a geek who claims to have proven through regression analyses that a Neanderthal had sex with your great-grandmother 50,000 years ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gaede/a-geneticist-is-a-geek-who-claims-to-have-proven-through-regression/) [Bill Gaede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gaede/) > [“Paleontologists found that in the past, Trilobites”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-vickers/paleontologists-found-that-in-the-past-trilobites/) [Lee Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-vickers/) > [“During the decades after Darwin published, field geologists and paleontologists have gone on to uncover and discover thousands and thousands of fossils. They have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/during-the-decades-after-darwin-published-field-geologists-and/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [“Hammond turned to Gennaro. "You know, of course, what Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler do. They are paleontologists. They dig up dinosaurs." And then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/hammond-turned-to-gennaro-you-know-of-course-what-dr-grant-and-dr/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Paleontologists ever since Darwin have been searching (largely in vain) for the sequences of insensibly graded series of fossils that would stand as examples…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niles-eldredge/paleontologists-ever-since-darwin-have-been-searching-largely-in-vain/) [Niles Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niles-eldredge/) > [Certainly paleontologists have found samples of an extremely small fraction, only, of the earth's extinct species, and even for groups that are most readily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/certainly-paleontologists-have-found-samples-of-an-extremely-small/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [“Since the landmark 1972 paper by Gould and Eldredge, many studies have been done both with real populations and with mathematical simulations. The results…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/since-the-landmark-1972-paper-by-gould-and-eldredge-many-studies-have/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [“I have blogged previously about the dangerous and deadly effects of science denialism, from the innocent babies unnecessarily exposed to deadly diseases by other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-r-prothero/i-have-blogged-previously-about-the-dangerous-and-deadly-effects-of/) [Donald R. Prothero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-r-prothero/) > [Almost all paleontologists recognize that the discovery of a complete transition is in any case unlikely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/almost-all-paleontologists-recognize-that-the-discovery-of-a-complete/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [I don't like to say bad things about paleontologists, but they're not very good scientists. They're more like stamp collectors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-walter-alvarez/i-don-t-like-to-say-bad-things-about-paleontologists-but-they-re-not/) [Luis Walter Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-walter-alvarez/) > [“The places paleontologists looked for fossils and how those fossils have been interpreted have been influenced by politics and culture, reminding us that while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-switek/the-places-paleontologists-looked-for-fossils-and-how-those-fossils/) [Brian Switek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-switek/) > [“Geneticists are a group of mathematicians who have taken over the Neanderthal Paleontology Guild. They call the shots now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gaede/geneticists-are-a-group-of-mathematicians-who-have-taken-over-the/) [Bill Gaede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gaede/) ## 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 Accounts quotes > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The Hindus have a peculiar slovenliness in business matters, not being sufficiently methodical and strict in keeping accounts etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-hindus-have-a-peculiar-slovenliness-in-business-matters-not-being/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. 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