In 1974 Stephen Jay Gould began to write a column on the monthly review of the American Museum of Natural History: “This View of Life”. In more than 25 years of continuous activity, he published more than 300 brief essays, narrating evolution with particular attention to nature's quirkies and to the ways in which we explain them, and to nature's "jokes" defying our models; the essays also recount the history and historiography of biology, people and events contributing to the birth, revision and extension of the great evolutionary research programme. Many people (expert and not) see Gould's Reflections on Natural History as masterpieces of science writing, often realizing bold matches between science and various other forms of culture Gould drew from his own varied interests and intellectual depth. Italian readers access such richness in 12 books translated in Italian. I present and celebrate the five best brief essays by Stephen Jay Gould, who died ten years ago at 60. The "top five" is assembled through a poll among the readers of the webportal Pikaia (www.pikaia.eu). The site, active since 2004, is in debt towards Gould, beginning with choice of its name (Pikaia is the protochordate protagonist of Wonderful Life) and ending with the pluralistic and naturalistic attitude to science communication, leaned towards rigor and involvement. Gould's vivid and intriguing ideas and his unique style are sided with an overall vision of his work.

Per celebrare Stephen Jay Gould, grande paleontologo di Harvard, a dieci anni dalla sua morte (20 maggio 2002), presento qui i suoi cinque migliori saggi brevi,2 scelti tra quelli che scrisse per la sua rubrica “This View of Life” sulla rivista mensile dell’American Museum of Natural History, dove in oltre 25 anni di ininterrotta attività (1974-­‐2002) pubblicò più di 300 articoli. Molti, esperti e non, considerano queste Reflections on Natural History capolavori di divulgazione scientifica. I lettori italiani hanno accesso a questa ricchezza nei libri, periodiche raccolte tematiche dei saggi brevi di Gould, che diversi editori hanno tradotto (si veda la bibliografia al termine). Non si tratta solo e tanto di riassumere contenuti – anche se in parte lo farò. Il presente scritto è piuttosto un invito alla lettura, attraverso un commento, una contestualizzazione, la sottolineatura di alcuni aspetti.

Serrelli, E. (2012). The best of Stephen Jay Gould [Sito web].

The best of Stephen Jay Gould

SERRELLI, EMANUELE
2012

Abstract

In 1974 Stephen Jay Gould began to write a column on the monthly review of the American Museum of Natural History: “This View of Life”. In more than 25 years of continuous activity, he published more than 300 brief essays, narrating evolution with particular attention to nature's quirkies and to the ways in which we explain them, and to nature's "jokes" defying our models; the essays also recount the history and historiography of biology, people and events contributing to the birth, revision and extension of the great evolutionary research programme. Many people (expert and not) see Gould's Reflections on Natural History as masterpieces of science writing, often realizing bold matches between science and various other forms of culture Gould drew from his own varied interests and intellectual depth. Italian readers access such richness in 12 books translated in Italian. I present and celebrate the five best brief essays by Stephen Jay Gould, who died ten years ago at 60. The "top five" is assembled through a poll among the readers of the webportal Pikaia (www.pikaia.eu). The site, active since 2004, is in debt towards Gould, beginning with choice of its name (Pikaia is the protochordate protagonist of Wonderful Life) and ending with the pluralistic and naturalistic attitude to science communication, leaned towards rigor and involvement. Gould's vivid and intriguing ideas and his unique style are sided with an overall vision of his work.
Sito web
Stephen Jay Gould, Evolutionary biology, Evolutionary theory
Stephen Jay Gould, Biologia evoluzionistica, Teoria dell'evoluzione
Italian
2012
http://www.scienzainrete.it/contenuto/articolo/best-stephen-jay-gould?page=show
Pubblicato su Scienza in rete [ISSN: 2281-0749]
Serrelli, E. (2012). The best of Stephen Jay Gould [Sito web].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/39797
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