Gould, Stephen Jay

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Gould, Stephen Jay (1941–2002) US palaeontologist. He proposed that evolution could occur in sudden spurts rather than gradually. Gould's theory of punctuated equilibrium suggested that sudden accelerations in the evolutionary process could produce rapid changes in species over the comparatively short time of a few hundred thousand years. His many popular science books include Bully for Brontosaurus (1992).

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