  The view that the initiation of branching into two sympatric species may not
require natural selection emerged in Victorian times (Fleeming Jenkin, George
Romanes, William Bateson). In the 1980s paleontologist Steven Jay Gould gave a
theoretical underpinning of this non-genic "chromosomal" view, thus reinstating
Richard Goldschmidt's "heresy" of the 1930s. From modelling studies with
computer-generated "biomorphs," zoologist Richard Dawkins also affirmed
Goldschmidt, proclaiming the "evolution of evolvability." However, in the
1990s, while Gould and Dawkins were recanting, bioinformatic, biochemical and
cytological studies were providing a deeper underpinning. In 2001 this came
under attack from leaders in the field who favored Dawkins' genic emphasis.
Now, with growing evidence from multiple sources, we can reinstate again
Goldschmidt's view and clarify its nineteenth century roots.
