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23rd out of 71 books
—
17 voters
The Flamingo's Smile: Reflections in Natural History
"Gould himself is a rare and wonderful animal—a member of the endangered species known as the ruby-throated polymath. . . . [He] is a leading theorist on large-scale patterns in evolution . . . [and] one of the sharpest and most humane thinkers in the sciences." --David Quammen, New York Times Book Review
Paperback, 450 pages
Published
January 17th 1987
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published 1985)
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Most of Stephen Jay Gould’s books are collections of his essays he wrote for years (until his untimely and unfortunate death in 2002) that appeared in “Natural History” magazine. “The Flamingo’s Smile: Reflections in Natural History” is the fourth such collection.
Gould was a prominent paleontologist, evolutionary biologist and astute historian of science, who spent most of his career teaching at Harvard. His essays are a mix of science and history.
I'll take my lead from Dr. Gould. This book’s...more
Gould was a prominent paleontologist, evolutionary biologist and astute historian of science, who spent most of his career teaching at Harvard. His essays are a mix of science and history.
I'll take my lead from Dr. Gould. This book’s...more
My first foray into evolutionary biology. The book held a lot of promise and more than delivered despite the over florid writing that Gould has perfected (who uses words like synechdoche?). It is a book that speaks to the accidental nature of evolution but also puts an entirely different twist on the term "intelligent design". The intelligence referred to here simply means the adaptive nature of how we all came to be who we are - physically speaking. That is we build on small changes over time t...more
The greatest modern voice for the neo-Darwinian synthesis. He and a colleague, whose name I forget, re-purposed Kipling's term "just-so stories" to describe evolutionarily plausible but unprovable explanations for things. An amazing critical thinker, Gould realized that if you didn't establish some way of critiquing evolutionary explanations, they would become the equivalent of folk explanations, overpredicting to the point that they could never be disproven. Once evolutionary explanations becam...more
Wow! What a fire hose full of science and history. I listened and listened intently to SJ Gould's essays. It was hard. It was all new. It was often detailed in areas of knowledge where I hadn't yet learned the generalities. Each story was a struggle and in a real way, a disappointment. A disappointment in so far that I knew that no matter how much I enjoyed the essay, no matter how much I felt I learned, how new the point of view or artful the argument made I would not know enough at the end, no...more
I like Stephen Jay Gould's book and the way he mixs a wide range of subjects together--just like in real life.
Sometimes his essays get a little too technical for me, but he has stretched my mind more than a lot of other writers put together.
Sometimes his essays get a little too technical for me, but he has stretched my mind more than a lot of other writers put together.
Interesting essays, as always, about how science works, evolution and natural history. Reading these essays is a pleasure, tinged with regret that Stephen Jay Gould is no longer writing them.
"Gould himself is a rare and wonderful animal—a member of the endangered species known as the ruby-throated polymath. . . . [He] is a leading theorist on large-scale patterns in evolution . . . [and] one of the sharpest and most humane thinkers in the sciences." --David Quammen, New York Times
Jan 03, 2010
Stephen Smith
added it
The Flamingo's Smile, Reflections in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould (1985)
Right up there with a "Wonderful Life" in competition for my favorite Gould book.
Just didn't do much for me. Maybe if I'd had more education in these fields.
What did I learn? Jeez, what didn't I learn?
Gould's books of essays are always a pleasure to dip into.
I just don't have the background or training to be able to dive into most science books and get out of them all they offer, although my interest in the subject--whether physics or astronomy or natural history--is and has always been strong. I need books like this, where the science is sound but served up in bite-size, easily digestible chunks.
This is not an easy book to read--Gould's language and style are aimed at educated, but non-professional readers. Each essay is a gem in its own way, on a wide diversity of subjects. Gould sheds much light on how science is done, and the importance of the process rather than the conclusions. Highly recommended!
See my comments on Ever since Darwin. Interesting discussion of the extinction of dinosaurs and potential extinction of humans by nuclear war. This is more complex than some of Gould's other works.
Written for anyone with a penchant for natural history; Gould straddles the scientific and literary world perfectly; one foot solidly on each hallowed ground.
Nov 14, 2011
Clare Bell
marked it as to-read
Brilliant, honest, and insightful. I am perusing this one once again, after many fond re-readings. I love Gould's writing, and wish I could have met him.
Another of Gould's great best ofs from his series of essays in Natural History magazine. Always a treat!
I loved this book and Gould 's " spin" on evolution & the future of our world.
May 20, 2013
Asma Zaidi
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Gary Cannon
marked it as to-read
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Stephen Jay Gould was a prominent American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was also one of the most influential and widely read writers of popular science of his generation. Gould spent most of his career teaching at Harvard University and working at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Most of Gould's empirical research was on land snails. Gould...more
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Most of Gould's empirical research was on land snails. Gould...more
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“We have become, by the power of a glorious evolutionary accident called intelligence, the stewards of life's continuity on earth. We did not ask for this role, but we cannot abjure it. We may not be suited to it, but here we are.”
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71 people liked it
“The human mind delights in finding pattern—so much so that we often mistake coincidence or forced analogy for profound meaning. No other habit of thought lies so deeply within the soul of a small creature trying to make sense of a complex world not constructed for it.”
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6 people liked it
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10 juin 05:42