Dr. Gould is a famous dude because...In Stephen Gould's first book Ever Since Darwin, he bases his theory on Charles Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection.
1. Organisms vary, and the variations are inherited by their offspring.
2. Organisms produce more offspring than can possibly survive.
3. On average, offspring that vary most strongly in directions favored by the environment will survive and propagate. Variation will therefore accumulate in populations by natural selection.
Gould believes that natural selection will operate, but that the three statements do not (by themselves) guarantee evolution. Gould adds two more dimensions to Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection.
1. First, variation must be random, or at least not preferentially inclined toward adaptation. For if variation comes pre- packaged in the right direction then selection plays no creative role, but merely eliminates the unlucky individuals who do not vary in the appropriate way. Evolution is a mixture of chance and necessity - chance at the level of variation, necessity in the working of selection.
2. Secondly, variation must be small relative to the extent of evolutionary change in the foundation of new species. For if two species arise all at once, than selection only has to remove former occupants to make way for an improvement that it did not manufacture. In this book, Ever Since Darwin, Gould talks primarily about human evolution. He shows the uniqueness and the unity with other creatures that humans have.
In his book Full House,Dr, Gould explores the problem of progress in the history of life. He uses the example of the extinction of an abundancy of baseball players who can hit 0.400 to show a model for how evolution exists in every day human life. He proposes the idea that evolution does not exist with a purpose of life evolving for some higher purpose. Living things evolve but not because of some grand plan. Life diversifies because of its environment and geography. Although he doesn't seem to quite have the answer as to why there are not more 0.400 hitters out there anymore. He does say that the disappearance of the number of high powered hitters is not because of a degeneration of batting overall. He proposes the following formulations:
1. Complex systems improve when the best performers play by the same rules over extended periods of time. As systems improve, they equilibrate and variation decreases. But constant rules do not imply unchanging practices.
2. As improvement occurs and bell curves march toward the right wall, variation must shrink at the right tail.
Overall, Gould champions Darwin's cause. He has spent his entire professional life attempting to prove and explain Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection. With his ability to use every day examples, Dr. Gould shows us how evolution is everywhere we look. Even in baseball! We give him two panda's thumbs up!