So, Stephen J Gould is right...... the evolutionary process can involve punctuated equilibrium.
That is, an evolutionary flow has fluctuation and is not constrained by a straight jacketed steady state imposed by some.
Oh yes, one more thing....... uncertainty is OK. It is not necessary to be dogmatically certain
“steady, gradual progress” was an idealistic - and idiotic - concept from the start.
Look at a graph of the activity during your day, week, year, or life - there’s no steady slope, it’s all a series of spikes with long periods of sameness in-between.