Do monkeys write in margins?
Our tie-in for this month is actually no more than a jumping off point. Today
marks an achievement of one of history's most famous primates. It was on this
day, in 1961, that Ham the
Chimp went into space, paving the way for human flight there. It was a short
flight, but Ham performed well on the various experiments that were designed for
him, and his performance on these convinced NASA that a personned space flight
was possible. Ham himself became a celebrity, and though I can't remember seeing
him, he appeared in numerous television programs in the 18 years between his history
flight and his death.
But if our date tie-in deals with primates, and our main text with margins, perhaps
we can be excused the urge to ask whether a group (a large group) of monkeys,
given enough time and typewriters could type out the complete works of Shakespeare.
Determining how much time is enough time is rather difficult, though perhaps also
critical. It was part of the
original thought experiment that raised this issue. At least one
modern-day experiment, though admittedly a short one, suggests that our monkeys
are going to have a very hard time trying to accomplish this task - if they're
actually trying. After all, it's basically a question of chance and probability.
Enough time isn't two months, but that's the time that I need in order to learn
what my brother-in-law will be able to do with 6
Billion Monkeys. I'm anxiously awaiting that installation.
Go to: In the margins of cyberspace.