This is Niles Eldredge. He was the co developer with Stephen Jay Gould of the theory of punctuated equilibrium.

We could apply the theory of punctuated equilibrium to languages.

Like we could have punctuated expressions of anger, as in riots.

I know this because look at how punctuated meal time is when they are no longer in their particular rooms here. Right?

It's punctuated by three quick anecdotes, which show how accidental encounters with strange noises gave us some of the most important information we have about space.

NEW YORK History rarely unfolds smoothly or evenly. Instead, it tends to be punctuated by major developments battles, assassinations, breakthroughs that have consequences that are felt for years.

NEW YORK History rarely unfolds smoothly or evenly. Instead, it tends to be punctuated by major developments battles, assassinations, breakthroughs that have consequences that are felt for years.

So this project was punctuated by a really amazing event, which was held in the desert outside Albuquerque in New Mexico at the Jemez Pueblo, where for three consecutive nights, the contents of the capsule were projected onto the sides of the ancient Red Rock Canyon walls, which stand about 200 feet tall. It was really incredible.

WASHINGTON, DC The year 2015 was difficult, punctuated by declining growth forecasts, horrific terror attacks, massive refugee flows, and serious political challenges, with populism on the rise in many countries. In the Middle East, in particular, chaos and violence has continued to proliferate, with devastating consequences.

However, despite this positive picture, a climate of protracted social and humanitarian crisis endured through the year, punctuated by an intensification of the conflict, ongoing barrier construction and persistent fiscal crisis.

You may think I'm wrong in this, but I think that we live in an age when our lives are regularly punctuated by career crises, by moments when what we thought we knew, about our lives, about our careers, comes into contact with a threatening sort of reality.

Tailgating, or picking up dimes in front of a steamroller, is another source of febezzle. Investors search for regular small gains punctuated by occasional large losses, an approach exemplified by the carry trade by which investors borrowed euros in Germany and France to lend in Greece and Portugal.

For decades, open conflict and simmering hostility have been punctuated by periods of short lived bonhomie. The principal obstacle to peace has been Pakistan s sponsorship of militancy and terrorism within India, culminating in the horrific attacks in Mumbai in November 2008, in which terrorist commandos killed almost 200 people.

China s prolonged and apparently contentious leadership transition, punctuated by the purge of Bo Xilai, suggests that its leaders ability to continue to manage the country s emergence as a great power is not entirely certain. That makes the absence of a widely accepted regional structure of peace all the more dangerous.

If globalization, which has so enriched the world s wealthiest countries, is to continue, governments must find ways to increase incomes more evenly. Otherwise, today s fencing in of the rich world will increase the risk of a backlash against free circulation of goods and capital, as well as of political instability punctuated by terrorism.

Given this backdrop of repression and punctuated democracy, the failure of Islamists in Egypt and Turkey tells us less about Islam s compatibility with democracy than we might think. Did Morsi and Erdoğan behave as they did because of their religious ideologies, or would most political leaders seeking to retain power have acted in similar ways in their position?

The Islamic State is now employing a similar strategy, mixing ruthless military operations with an incendiary social media campaign, punctuated by photos and videos of brutal executions, including the beheading of US and other Western citizens. These efforts have mobilized the Islamic State s enemies, while inspiring a growing number of discontented individuals and groups to self recruit to its banner.

It was lunch, it was take out, it was sit down, it was buffet, it was three weeks ago, it was three months ago.

It was theirs. It was experiential. It was authentic.

That was the model. That was what everybody was suggesting was going to be coming.

There was lasagna, there was casseroles, there was brownies, there was butter tarts, and there was pies, lots and lots of pies.

Two years, I was ostracized, I was stigmatized, I was isolated, because I was a victim.

This was an India that was buying Corvettes. This was an India that was buying Jaguar.

It was brutal it was funny ooh, it was funny.

And for me, that seven years was like total bliss, because I was reading, I was writing, I was thinking, I was researching.

And the rule was, because I was sensitive, I was compassionate, I was very sensitive to injustice, and I was very pro justice.

This was bad! Man, I was I cough. I was sick.

But what was interesting was the adult Triceratops was also spongy.

It was never promoted, it was never sold it was organized.

Agnes was a woman who was cut when she was a little girl, she was female genitally mutilated.

Mrs. Alisch was there. Mr. Shilale was there. Mrs. Casey was there.

And I was floored, and I was broken, and I was angry.

It was fought for, it was campaigned for, it was innovated for.

And what he was doing was, he was teaching her to browse.

What was even more surprising was the fact that Budrus was successful.

I was losing, but it was the best training because this was Atlanta.

It was not the savanna, it was not the water, it was this!

It was sweet, it was unctuous.

He was cool. He was fine.

I was told I was dyslexic.

I was free, I was happy.

Where was I? What was happening?

What was that? Was that real?

So this was Prozac, this was Zoloft, this was a black jellybean and this was muscle relaxant, all of which were the medications that the impatient was taking.

I'm not sure by that time Bombay was there, or Delhi was there, or Chennai was there, or Bangalore was there.