Stephen Jay Gould

The human brain is the most complex object in the known universe.

I strive to make the obscure accessible, and the complex comprehensible.

The beauty of nature is not just in its forms, but in its processes.

We are temporary custodians of this planet.

The greatest lessons are often learned from failure.

My intellectual journey has been a constant process of re-evaluation.

The universe is a symphony of interconnected events.

To truly live is to be perpetually curious.

The greatest challenge is to overcome our own biases.

Science is not a heartless pursuit of objective information. It is a very human endeavor, and it is subject to all the foibles of human beings.

The most important thing to remember about science is that it is a way of knowing, not a body of facts.

Evolution is a fact, not a theory. It is as much a fact as the earth being round.

The history of life is not a ladder of progress; it is a bush, with many branches, most of which lead to extinction.

We are here because one odd group of fishes had a peculiar fin anatomy that could be modified into legs for terrestrial creatures.

The human mind is not a blank slate. It comes pre-programmed with certain biases and predispositions.

Science is a process of constant revision and refinement. It is never finished.

We are not the pinnacle of evolution. We are just one twig on a very large bush.

The history of life is a story of contingency, not inevitability.

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'

Science is a social activity. It is done by people, for people.