Quotes from Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature

Brian Switek ·  320 pages

Rating: (575 votes)


“This area produces a protein given the whimsical name Sonic Hedgehog,”
― Brian Switek, quote from Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature


“If an organised body is not in the situation and circumstances best adapted to its sustenance and propagation, then, in conceiving an indefinite variety among the individuals of that species, we must be assured, that, on the one hand, those which depart most from the best adapted constitution, will be most liable to perish, while, on the other hand, those organised bodies, which most approach to the best constitution for the present circumstances, will be best adapted to continue, in preserving themselves and multiplying the individuals of their race.”
― Brian Switek, quote from Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature


“In order to approximate dinosaurian physiology, the trio of scientists carried out the unenviable task of sticking thermometers in the cloacae of American alligators.”
― Brian Switek, quote from Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature


“the difficulties of making temperature experiments [on fully grown alligators] would be great and can be best left to the imagination.”)”
― Brian Switek, quote from Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature


“Distinguishing the first true birds from their feathered dinosaur relations has become increasingly difficult. If we define birds as warm-blooded, feathered, bipedal animals that lay eggs, then many coelurosaurs are birds, so we have to take another approach.”
― Brian Switek, quote from Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature



“As new discoveries continued to accumulate it became apparent that almost every group of coelurosaurs had feathered representatives, from the weird secondarily herbivorous forms such as Beipiaosaurus to Dilong, an early relative of Tyrannosaurus. It is even possible that, during its early life, the most famous of the flesh-tearing dinosaurs may have been covered in a coat of dino-fuzz.”
― Brian Switek, quote from Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature


“The places paleontologists looked for fossils and how those fossils have been interpreted have been influenced by politics and culture, reminding us that while there is a reality that science allows us to approach the process of science is a human endeavor.”
― Brian Switek, quote from Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature


Video

About the author

Brian Switek
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“If I ever see you again, you traitorous bastard, I'll take out the other fucking eye!”
― Pittacus Lore, quote from The Fall of Five


“Two of them drifted over to intercept me with the easy calm of big cats that have been fed recently.”
― Richard K. Morgan, quote from Altered Carbon


“if they brought you here,They'll put you to work. THEY'RE not readyto kill you YET.”
― Art Spiegelman, quote from Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began


“You've arrested my senses and I can't seem to get enough of you. That's what scares me. I'm so deep there's no getting out for me. You own me, you know?”
― Fisher Amelie, quote from Vain


“There are pieces of me, small pieces, still in love with a fiction. A ghost living inside a living boy I cannot begin to fathom. The ghost who sat by my bed while I dreamed in pain. The ghost who kept Samson from my mind as long as he could, I know, delaying an inevitable torture.

The ghost who loves me, in what poisoned way he can.

And I feel that poison working in me.”
― Victoria Aveyard, quote from King's Cage


Interesting books

Nightfall
(2.2K)
Nightfall
by Shannon Messenger
The Hating Game
(42.9K)
The Hating Game
by Sally Thorne
The Female of the Species
(14.5K)
The Female of the Sp...
by Mindy McGinnis
Speaks the Nightbird
(7.4K)
Speaks the Nightbird
by Robert R. McCammon
Fourth Comings
(9.8K)
Fourth Comings
by Megan McCafferty
The Courts of Chaos
(18.1K)
The Courts of Chaos
by Roger Zelazny

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.