In remembrance
stephen Jay Gould, an evolutionary theorist at Harvard University, usa, whose pioneering work put paleontology back on the academic high ground, died on May 20, 2002, of cancer. He was 60.
One of the most influential evolutionary biologists of the 20th century, his theory of punctuated equilibrium evoked as much respect as derision. There are long periods of time, sometimes millions of years, during which species change little, if at all and then rapid evolutionary changes occur, went Gould's theory. Famed for his writings on the matters of science and for his arrogance, Gould remained at constant loggerheads with other group of evolutionary biologists