Charles Darwin's theory might explain the size of bird beaks on the Galapagos islands but not major evolutionary changes such as the origin of feathered animals. So concluded a conference of 160 biologists that was held at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago back in 1980. In the same year the famous evolutionary biologist Stephen J. Gould declared Darwinism "dead" in a scientific journal. This book tells what led to the revolts of 1980 and why they were covered up.
Perhaps we [colleagues] should all lie low and rally round the flag of strict Darwinism, at least for the moment --a kind of old-time religion on our part.
Evolutionary biologist Stephen J. Gould, 1981
There's a strong school of thought in biology that one should never question Darwin in public.
Computer scientist W. Daniel Hillis, 1995