Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-237) and index.
How shall we read and spot a trend? -- Death and horses: two cases for the primacy of variation -- The model batter: extinction of 0.400 hitting and the improvement of baseball -- The modal bacter: why progress does not rule the history of life.
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Presents a new view of scientific progress in which variety, and not complexity, is heralded as the true measure of excellence, illustrated by examples such as the disappearance of 0.400 hitting in baseball, and the absence of modern Mozarts.