Punctuated Equilibrium and the Validation of Macroevolutionary Theory 975
paleontological reality ... The debate could be traced back to Darwin, who'd
candidly admitted that gradual evolution did not square with the fossil record.
Gould emphasized that Darwinism was 'incomplete, not incorrect.' The theory of
punctuated equilibria, however, proved a crucial refinement of Darwinian thought,
as well as a useful model for other disciplines from anthropology to political
science."
In a long article for The New Yorker on the history of the American Museum
of Natural History, Traub (1995) emphasized the frustration of staff scientists
when public supporters only recognize exhibits and have no inkling that the
Museum also operates as a distinguished institute of scientific research. In listing
accomplishments from Boaz to Mead in anthropology, and from Osborn to
Simpson and Mayr for paleontology and evolution, Traub mentioned only
punctuated equilibrium to mark the continuation of this tradition into recent years:
"And in the early seventies, Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge accounted for
anomalies in the fossil record by arguing that evolution proceeded not steadily but
sporadically—a theory known as 'punctuated equilibria.'"
I acknowledge, of course, the blatant unfairness of this selectivity, especially
the legitimate grievances prompted thereby among those who built cladistic theory
at the Museum during these same years. I cite this example (with some mixture of
embarrassment and, to be honest, a tinge of pride as well) to point out how
punctuated equilibrium became, in popular culture, a synecdoche for professional
discussion about evolution. I also recognize that this journalistic ploy rightly
angers and inspires jealousy among colleagues; I merely point out that Eldredge
and I cannot fairly be blamed for this cultural phenomenon. Neither of us ever
organized a symposium, or even called a reporter, to discuss punctuated
equilibrium in public (and neither of us was interviewed by the author of this New
Yorker article).
- INTERNATIONAL SPREAD. Punctuated equilibrium has been prominently
discussed in newspaper and magazine articles of nearly all major Western
nations—in France as equilibres intermittents (Blanc, 1982) or equilibres ponctues
(the leading newspaper he Monde of May 26, 1982; Devillers and Chaline, 1989;
Courtillot, 1995); in Spain and Latin America as equilibrio interrumpido
(Sequieros, 1981) or equilibrio punctuado (Valdecasas and Herreros, 1982;
Franco, 1985); in Italy as equilibri punteggiati (Salvatori, 1984); and in Germany
as Unterbrochenen Gleichgewichts (Glaubrecht, 1995). (All these citations come
from popular articles about the theory, not from biopic pieces about the authors, or
from technical literature.)
Punctuated equilibrium has also been featured in Western but non Indo-
European, accounts in Hungary, Finland and Turkey, and in several articles of the
non-Western press, notably in India, Japan, Korea and China. The theory even
penetrated the strongest of political iron curtains to emerge, on March 21, 1983, as
a feature article in Maoist Mainland China's major newspaper Ren Min Ri Bao
(The People's Daily). They wrote, in a commentary not notable for accuracy:
"Theories against Darwin have taken the opportunity to