His first point is to argue that phyletic gradualism understood in the sense that evolution proceeds at a single uniform rate of speed, called " constant speedism " by Dawkins is a " caricature of Darwinism " and " does not really exist . " His second argument, which follows from the first, is that once the caricature of " constant speedism " is dismissed, we are left with one logical alternative, which Dawkins terms " variable speedism . " Variable speedism may also be distinguished one of two ways : " " discrete variable " speedism " and " " continuously variable " speedism . " Eldredge and Gould, proposing that evolution jumps between stability and relative rapidity, are described as " discrete variable speedists, " and " in this respect they are genuinely radical . " They assert that evolution generally proceeds in bursts, or not at all . " Continuously variable speedists, " on the other hand advance that " evolutionary rates fluctuate continuously from very fast to very slow and stop, with all intermediates.
