George Gaylord Simpson (June 16, 1902 – October 6, 1984) was an American paleontologist.
Simpson was perhaps the most influential paleontologist of the twentieth century,...
In most cases the break is so sharp and the gap so large that the origin of the order is speculative and much disputed. George Gaylord Simpson
In most cases the break is so sharp and the gap so large that the origin of the order is speculative and much disputed.
It is now firmly established that ontogeny does not repeat phylogeny. George Gaylord Simpson
It is now firmly established that ontogeny does not repeat phylogeny.
I have a debt, a loyalty to the museum; the best place for me to do what I wanted to do. George Gaylord Simpson
I have a debt, a loyalty to the museum; the best place for me to do what I wanted to do.
I don't know where to put whales. I'm sticking them here, but I don't have any reason for it. George Gaylord Simpson
I don't know where to put whales. I'm sticking them here, but I don't have any reason for it.
Human judgment is notoriously fallible and perhaps seldom more so than in facile decisions that a character has no adaptive significance because we do not know the use of it. George Gaylord Simpson
Human judgment is notoriously fallible and perhaps seldom more so than in facile decisions that a character has no adaptive significance because we do not know the use of it.
If a sect does officially insist that its structure of belief demands that evolution be false, then no compromise is possible. George Gaylord Simpson
If a sect does officially insist that its structure of belief demands that evolution be false, then no compromise is possible.
It remains true, as every paleontologist knows, that most new species, genera, and families, and that nearly all categories above the level of families, appear in the record suddenly and are not led up to by known. George Gaylord Simpson
It remains true, as every paleontologist knows, that most new species, genera, and families, and that nearly all categories above the level of families, appear in the record suddenly and are not led up to by known.
It is inherent in any definition of science that statements that cannot be checked by observation are not really saying anything or at least they are not science. George Gaylord Simpson
It is inherent in any definition of science that statements that cannot be checked by observation are not really saying anything or at least they are not science.
Splitting and gradual divergence of genera is exemplified very well and in a large variety of organisms. George Gaylord Simpson
Splitting and gradual divergence of genera is exemplified very well and in a large variety of organisms.
Most of the dogmatic religions have exhibited a perverse talent for taking the wrong side on the most important concepts in the material universe, from the structure of the solar system to the origin of man. George Gaylord Simpson
Most of the dogmatic religions have exhibited a perverse talent for taking the wrong side on the most important concepts in the material universe, from the structure of the solar system to the origin of man.
The search for historical laws is, I maintain, mistaken in principle. George Gaylord Simpson
The search for historical laws is, I maintain, mistaken in principle.
Species evolve exactly as if they were adapting as best they could to a changing world, and not at all as if they were moving toward a set goal. George Gaylord Simpson
Species evolve exactly as if they were adapting as best they could to a changing world, and not at all as if they were moving toward a set goal.