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v. t. e. In evolutionary biology, punctuated equilibrium (also called punctuated equilibria) is a theory that proposes that once a species appears in the fossil record, the population will become stable, showing little evolutionary change for most of its geological history. [1] This state of little or no morphological change is called stasis.
The Richness of Life: the Essential Stephen Jay Gould, London: Jonathan Cape, 2007, ISBN 978-0-09-948867-5 This is an anthology of Gould's writings edited by Paul McGarr and Steven Rose, introduced by Steven Rose. 2007. Punctuated Equilibrium, Cambridge MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-674-02444-1 Book review
Punctuated equilibrium in social theory is a conceptual framework for understanding the process of change in complex social systems. The approach studies the evolution of policy change, [1] including the evolution of conflicts. [2] The theory posits that most social systems exist in an extended period of stasis, which may be punctuated by ...
Critical juncture theory focuses on critical junctures, i.e., large, rapid, discontinuous changes, [1] and the long-term causal effect or historical legacy of these changes. [2] Critical junctures are turning points that alter the course of evolution of some entity (e.g., a species, a society). Critical juncture theory seeks to explain both (1 ...
It is a change in the spread of complexity." (p. 146) Life starts in the simplest form that the constraints of chemistry and physics will allow, with bacteria probably close to that limit. "So life starts at the minimum level of complexity. Since even now nearly everything that is alive is a bacterium, for the most part life has stayed that way."
Holism in science. Holism in science, holistic science, or methodological holism is an approach to research that emphasizes the study of complex systems. Systems are approached as coherent wholes whose component parts are best understood in context and in relation to both each other and to the whole. Holism typically stands in contrast with ...
Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould proposed punctuated equilibria in 1972. Punctuated equilibrium is a refinement to evolutionary theory. It describes patterns of descent taking place in "fits and starts" separated by long periods of stability. Eldredge went on to develop a hierarchical vision of evolutionary and ecological systems. Around this ...
Pseudoextinction (or phyletic extinction) of a species occurs when all members of the species are extinct, but members of a daughter species remain alive. The term pseudoextinction refers to the evolution of a species into a new form, with the resultant disappearance of the ancestral form. Pseudoextinction results in the relationship between ...