I understand where you are coming from; however, I don't hold Gould in such high regard as others do. I believe what Don Mills of Wellington, New Zeland wrote on the Ancient Near East Archaeology discussion list applies to Mr. Gould as well:
"Skeptic that I am, I wonder how much of a literature there is 'debunking the debunkers.' Several of the names put forward (such as James Randi, Martin Gardner, and Carl Sagan) are those of scholars who have been (sometimes repeatedly) caught out in the manufacture of inaccurate and unworkable arguments to "disprove" what they held to be 'crackpot' theories, or (in the case of Randi and Gardner) in the active suppression of good scientific evidence that pointed in a direction contrary to the one they wanted to pursue.
"This is not a popular topic among scientists and scholars, to be sure, though it has attracted the attention of a number of science historians and philosophers. As one wrote, 'Science is not what we are taught it is: science is what scientists do' (Alfred de Grazzia, I think).
"When authority figures adopt an authoritative position, it is surely incumbent on them to deal accurately with the facts. Unfortunately, some of the authors ... have been repeatedly quoted, by colleagues and by laity, as "disproving" this-or-that 'idiotic' hypothesis, even after sceptical analysis of their 'disproofs' has shown them to be poorly founded and poorly constructed."
It is difficult to write the proper words in this situation. For the "death" of a Christian to a Christian is but a sleep. Only God now knows Gould's ultimate fate.
For all of us "living", he is no longer here. That is sadness enough.
Jud 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Jud 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Jud 1:22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
Jud 1:23 And others save with fear, pulling [them] out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Jud 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present [you] faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
Jud 1:25 To the only wise God our Saviour, [be] glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
I saw Stephen Jay Gould talk a couple of years ago.
His talk showed an amazing insight about the difference between the physical sciences with the power of prediction (Newton's 2nd law and Law of Gravitation) -- and the historical sciences of paleontology, geology and cosmology (which often deal with unique events in the past, and don't have predictive power).
He will be missed. See the "Skeptic" column in June Scientific American, where he is praised for his explanations of science (written well before his death).