“Thus, we have three principles for increasing adequacy of data: if you must work with a single object, look for imperfections that record historical descent; if several objects are available, try to render them as stages of a single historical process; if processes can be directly observed, sum up their effects through time. One may discuss these principles directly or recognize the “little problems” that Darwin used to exemplify them: orchids, coral reefs, and worms—the middle book, the first, and the last.”
"Worm for a Century, and All Seasons", p. 132
Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes (1983)
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Stephen Jay Gould274
American evolutionary biologist 1941–2002Related quotes
Vladimir Lenin book The Development of Capitalism in Russia
Source: The Development of Capitalism in Russia (1899), Chapter Eight
Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) French writer
Penser, c'est voir! me dit-il un jour emporté par une de nos objections sur le principe de notre organisation. Toute science humaine repose sur la déduction, qui est une vision lente par laquelle on descend de la cause à l'effet, par laquelle on remonte de l'effet à la cause; ou, dans une plus large expression, toute poésie comme toute oeuvre d'art procède d'une rapide vision des choses. <br class="br">Honoré de Balzac, Louis Lambert http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Louis_Lambert (1832), translated by Clara Bell
Stephen Jay Gould book Time's Arrow, Time's Cycle
chosen to illustrate this paramount principle of history
Source: Time's Arrow, Time's Cycle (1987), p. 84
Rebecca Wirfs-Brock (1953) American software engineer
Source: Object-oriented design: a responsibility-driven approach (1989), p. 71
David C. McClelland (1917–1998) American psychological theorist
Source: The Archiving Society, 1961, p. 417
Noam Chomsky (1928) american linguist, philosopher and activist
Peace in the Middle East? Reflections on Justice and Nationhood http://books.google.nl/books?id=gtNtAAAAMAAJ, 1974, p. 54. <br class="br">Quotes 1960s-1980s, 1970s
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975) Indian philosopher and statesman who was the first Vice President and the second President of India
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901–1972) austrian biologist and philosopher
Source: 1920s, Kritische Theorie der Formbildung (1928, 1933), p. 305; as cited in: Cliff Hooker ed. (2011) Philosophy of Complex Systems. p. 189