"Orchids were not made by an ideal engineer; they are jury-rigged from a limited set of available components."
"We are the offspring of history, and must establish our own paths in this most diverse and interesting of conceivable universes—one indifferent to our suffering, and therefore offering us maximum freedom to thrive, or to fail, in our own chosen way."
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Source: Stephen Jay Gould (1993). “Eight little piggies: reflections in natural history”, Vintage
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