摘要：All who have considered in the classroom, on the page, or at their desk, the record of life on this planet, may well agree with paleontologist Geerat J. Vermeij that there is “far more to the history of life than a mere parade of long names and dates of fossil plants and animals . . . .” Even the most no-nonsense, data-driven scientist and even the most cynical, text-bound postmodernist must wonder privately, in their heart of hearts, “What the (expletive deleted) does it mean?”
