Matt Kielty

Also, like we should say it's at this point that we got Chris a better microphone.

This is a mic gain of eight.

Yay, Chris, you sound great.

Anyways, but basically, like they were kind of freaked out because the idea is like if Darwin can't explain why things go extinct, then the question is, why do things go extinct?

Like, is it just chance?

And randomness.

And that question would send the three of them off in very different directions.

So Gould, for Gould, he actually, this was mostly just like a big huzzah moment.

Because paleontology had sort of knocked down a piece of Darwin and put forward this new question.

Yeah, exactly.

And as Chris put it.

It put paleontology at the high table.

But Gould, Gould kind of leaves extinction behind.

Goes back to what I said at the very beginning that we want to know why we're here.

And he starts using randomness and chance to look at things like diversity and adaptation.

And he starts writing all sorts of books.

He becomes kind of like famous Stephen Jay Gould.

But then Ralph, the guy who came up with the question to ask computer, he becomes obsessed with extinction.

And stays on that track for the rest of his professional career.

He ends up writing this book, which I have right here.