--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Unfortunately, all life on earth - the…" description: "\"Unfortunately, all life on earth - the only life we know - represents, for all its current variety, the results of a single experiment , for every eart..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/stephen-jay-gould-885_ancestry_unfortunately-all-life-on-earth-the-only_2871088.png" --- # Unfortunately, all life on earth - the only life we know… ![“Unfortunately, all life on earth - the only life we know - represents, for all its current variety, the results of a single experiment , for every earthly species evolved from the common ancestry of a single origin. We desperately need a repetition of the experiment (several would be better, but…” quote by Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/stephen-jay-gould-885_ancestry_unfortunately-all-life-on-earth-the-only_2871088.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/stephen-jay-gould-885_ancestry_unfortunately-all-life-on-earth-the-only_2871088.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/stephen-jay-gould-885_ancestry_unfortunately-all-life-on-earth-the-only_2871088.png) > “Unfortunately, all life on earth - the only life we know - represents, for all its current variety, the results of a single experiment , for every earthly species evolved from the common ancestry of a single origin. We desperately need a repetition of the experiment (several would be better, but let's not be greedy!) in order to make a judgement. Mars represents our first real hope for a second experiment - the sine qua non - for any proper answer for the question of questions.” [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. Life on Earth is the product of one evolutionary experiment; we need a second, like Mars colonization, to test our assumptions. **In simple terms:** All life stems from one origin; a second experiment could verify theories. Key Takeaway Seek new planetary experiments to validate evolution. Themes evolution planetary science philosophy Mood curious thoughtful Type scientific speculative When to use this quote - space colonization - scientific research - policy planning - educational curricula Key Concepts common ancestry experimental validation exobiology Questions to Reflect On - What would a second evolutionary experiment reveal? - How can we ethically conduct such experiments? A Different Perspective Mars may not replicate Earth conditions, limiting conclusions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestry/) [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Currents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/currents/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Earth life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth-life/) [Experiment Earthly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiment-earthly-3928677/) [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Greedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greedy/) [Judgement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgement/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-earth/) [Mars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mars/) [Mars Represents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mars-represents-3928676/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Repetition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repetition/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Variety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/variety/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [Only when love takes the lead will the earth, and life on earth, be safe again. 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That’s where the government is storing all my clones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-thing-that-has-impacted-life-on-earth-the-most-is-life-on-mars/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Asian Homo erectus died without issue and does not enter our immediate ancestry (for we evolved from African populations); Neanderthal people were collateral cousins,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/asian-homo-erectus-died-without-issue-and-does-not-enter-our/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The whole life-effort of man is to get his life into direct contact with the elemental life of the cosmos, mountain life, cloud life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-whole-life-effort-of-man-is-to-get-his-life-into-direct-contact/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [To dig one's own spade into one's own earth! Has life anything better to offer than this?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/to-dig-one-s-own-spade-into-one-s-own-earth-has-life-anything-better/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) > [Growing up, I lived a very normal, down-to-earth life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-biden/growing-up-i-lived-a-very-normal-down-to-earth-life/) [Ashley Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-biden/) > [The greatest mission of woman is to give life, earth-life, through honorable marriage, to the waiting spirits, our Father's spirit children who anxiously desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvin-j-ballard/the-greatest-mission-of-woman-is-to-give-life-earth-life-through/) [Melvin J. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvin-j-ballard/) > [“We are spirit in human form playing a game called earth life. Enjoy the experience!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam/we-are-spirit-in-human-form-playing-a-game-called-earth-life-enjoy/) [SAM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam/) > [ “\[Advanced souls\] know that they cannot change the system and they don't wish to. They are content to enjoy themselves in the Earth Life… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-monroe/advanced-souls-know-that-they-cannot-change-the-system-and-they-don-t/) [Robert Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-monroe/) > [I like to define biology as the history of the earth and all its life - past, present, and future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/i-like-to-define-biology-as-the-history-of-the-earth-and-all-its-life/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [“The uniformity of the earth's life, more astonishing than its diversity, is accountable by the high probability that we derived, originally, from some single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-uniformity-of-the-earth-s-life-more-astonishing-than-its/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The discovery and investigation of life on other planets is likely to change many of our ideas about how life arose on the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-smoot/the-discovery-and-investigation-of-life-on-other-planets-is-likely-to/) [George Smoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-smoot/) > [“Earth life is giant field day where we willingly choose the limitation of racing with both feet in a potato sack, or sometimes we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaya-mclaren/earth-life-is-giant-field-day-where-we-willingly-choose-the/) [Kaya McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaya-mclaren/) ## 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 Ancestry quotes > [It is worthwhile for anyone to have behind him a few generations of honest, hard-working ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-worthwhile-for-anyone-to-have-behind-him-a-few-generations-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Blood is a destiny. One's genius descends in the stream from long lines of ancestry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/blood-is-a-destiny-one-s-genius-descends-in-the-stream-from-long/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [Being a mixed-blood person of Ojibway and European ancestry, I always found that I only heard one side of the story - that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-boyden/being-a-mixed-blood-person-of-ojibway-and-european-ancestry-i-always/) [Joseph Boyden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-boyden/) > [Bird taxonomy is a difficult field because of the severe anatomical constraints imposed by flight. There are only so many ways to design a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/bird-taxonomy-is-a-difficult-field-because-of-the-severe-anatomical/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [I've got German, Cornish and Scottish ancestry. It might help explain my affinity for forests, the sea, and fatty foods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-maclachlan/i-ve-got-german-cornish-and-scottish-ancestry-it-might-help-explain/) [Kyle MacLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-maclachlan/) > [“I have always found it difficult not to be moved by Jerusalem, even when I hated it—and God knows I have hated it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-abulhawa/i-have-always-found-it-difficult-not-to-be-moved-by-jerusalem-even/) [Susan Abulhawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-abulhawa/) > [I've never felt grounded because of my ancestry or my gender. 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It was as if he had walked under the millimeter of haze just above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/even-the-idea-of-a-city-never-entered-his-mind-it-was-as-if-he-had/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) [Browse all 256 Ancestry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Unfortunately, all life on earth - the only life we know - represents, for all its current variety, the results of a single experiment , for every earthly species evolved from the common ancestry of a single origin. We desperately need a repetition of the experiment (several would be better, but let's not be greedy!) in order to make a judgement. 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