Evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr dies

mountebank

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Fri Feb-04-05 05:40 PM
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Evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr dies

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Ernst Mayr, one of the world's leading evolutionary biologists, has died at 100.

The longtime Harvard University faculty member died Thursday at a retirement community in Bedford.

His work in the 1930s and '40s, while a curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, established him as a leading neo-Darwinist, supporting a theory of evolution that is a combination of Darwin's natural selection theory and modern genetics.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Obit%20Mayr

Mayr made good efforts in his later years to write more for the public, like in his 2002 book "What Evolution Is," though he was nowhere near as well known as celebrity evolutionists like Stephen Jay Gould.

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Ediacara

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Fri Feb-04-05 05:42 PM
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1. Mayr's contribution is tremendous

And is one of the three great names in evolutionary biology, the other two being Darwin and Gould. Rest in Peace.

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mountebank

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Fri Feb-04-05 06:21 PM
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4. Gould's place is probably not secure.

Gould was the public face on Evolution for many years, but many believe he did more to undermine traditional evolutionary theory than he did to support it. He believed strongly in the idea of "contingency," that is, that random chance has played an overwhelming role in evolution, as opposed to more deterministic processes like natural selection, which the neo-Darwinians obviously saw as paramount.

In the end, Gould did not contribute so much to evolutionary theory, though he did write some wonderful essays. I've always liked him for his writing, but his research and theory are not terribly compelling.

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gottaB

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Sat Feb-05-05 09:41 AM
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5. Gould was basically right about stochastic processes

That strain of thought was essential to his criticism of adaptionalist views. He accomplished much more than a refinement or explication of traditional Darwinism. He advanced a compelling new paradigm.

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mike_c

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Fri Feb-04-05 05:50 PM
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2. ah well, that's certainly not unexpected...

...but a sad day nonetheless. RIP.

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Nothing Without Hope

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Fri Feb-04-05 06:17 PM
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3. A grand gentleman who lived to true maturity and could share it with us

Not so many of the great ones are around any more, and they are treasures. When they reach such an age and are still full of ideas and spiritual drive to match with their deep insight and lifetime's experience, they are priceless.

A friend of mine worked with him some years ago, aiding in one of his writing projects. She told me he was a fine, kind gentleman. When people are that way when no one else will know, you know it goes all the way to the core.

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