The theory of punctuated equilibrium or punctuated equilibria in evolution. This theory argues that once species appeared in the the fossil record they became stable, showing little net evolutionary change for most of their geological history. This state they called stasis. When significant evolutionary change occurred, the theory states that it is generally restricted to rare and geologically rapid events of branching speciation called cladogenesis. Cladogenesis is the process by which a species splits into two distinct species, rather than one species gradually transforming into another. Eldredge and Gould argued that the degree of gradualism in evolution commonly attributed to Darwin is virtually nonexistent in the fossil record, and that stasis dominates the history of most fossil species. In 2016 the paper and Eldredge and Gould was available from blackwellpublishing.com at this link.

A critique of statistical methods and cultural motivations underlying biological determinism. "Gould argues that the primary assumption underlying biological determinism is that, “worth can be assigned to individuals and groups by measuring intelligence as a single quantity”. Biological determinism is analyzed in discussions of craniometry and psychological testing, the two principal methods used to measure intelligence as a single quantity. According to Gould, these methods possess two deep fallacies. The first fallacy is reification, which is “our tendency to convert abstract concepts into entities”.^[3] Examples of reification include the intelligence quotient (IQ) and the general intelligence factor (g factor), which have been the cornerstones of much research into human intelligence. The second fallacy is that of “ranking”, which is the “propensity for ordering complex variation as a gradual ascending scale”.^[3] (Wikipedia article on The Mismeasure of Man, accessed 10-2020). Expanded second edition, 1996.

A spectacular book on eight medical and natural history museums: text by Gould, superbly reproduced dramatic photographs by Purcell. Chapter 1: "Dutch treat: Peter the Great and Frederik Ruysch".

A "technical book on macroevolution and the historical development of evolutionary theory.^[1] The book was twenty years in the making,^[2]published just two months before Gould's death.^[3] Aimed primarily at professionals,^[4] the volume is divided into two parts. The first is a historical study of classical evolutionary thought, drawing extensively upon primary documents; the second is a constructive critique of the modern evolutionary synthesis, and presents a case for an interpretation of biological evolution based largely on hierarchical selection, and the theory of punctuated equilibrium (developed by Niles Eldredge and Gould in 1972).^{[5]" (Wikipedia article on The Structure of Evolutionary Theory, accessed 03-2017).}