The Monkey Syndrome

[xsited1]

How did spraying the other monkeys prevent the first one from getting the banana?

It didn't.

That's not the point.

If you read the story carefully, it is always the same banana. Notice the second monkey only attempted to reach the banana.

Oh for heaven's sake. Haven't you heard about the original study? What rock have you been living under? Is USMB the only place you get your information?

 

[Ravi]

It didn't.

That's not the point.

If you read the story carefully, it is always the same banana. Notice the second monkey only attempted to reach the banana.

Oh for heaven's sake. Haven't you heard about the original study? What rock have you been living under? Is USMB the only place you get your information?

There are other sources?

 

[Foxfyre]

There is no indication that even with the stairs the monkey can reach the banana either. So that point is moot.

The focus is on whether the monkey will attempt to reach the banana.

Substitute tree huggers for the monkeys and substitue oil exploration in ANWR for the banana.

Substitute Congress for the monkeys and substitute the deficit for the banana.

Works just as well.

 

[Zoom-boing]

They're in a cage . . . . surely there are clever monkeys who avoid the stairs altogether, climb the bars of the cage and actually reach the banana before getting sprayed, no?

 

[Foxfyre]

They're in a cage . . . . surely there are clever monkeys who avoid the stairs altogether, climb the bars of the cage and actually reach the banana before getting sprayed, no?

Perhaps if they had not been persuaded that it shouldn't be done at all and anybody who tries should be punished.

 

[Wiseacre]

Maybe if you're really hungry it might be worth it to get that banana even if it means an asskicking.

I got it! The monkeys elect a president who gets the banana and then they redistribute the wealth (banana). Does that mean they're all socialist monkeys?

 

[Ravi]

They're in a cage . . . . surely there are clever monkeys who avoid the stairs altogether, climb the bars of the cage and actually reach the banana before getting sprayed, no?

Apparently it is not really a banana, but a hologram.

 

[rightwinger]

My favorite monkey experiment was the professor who attempted to prove or disprove the old "if a million monkeys typed for a million years, one of them would recreate Shakespeare"

So he wanted to see if monkeys truly typed in random patterns. He put ten keyboards in with ten monkeys and recorded what was typed. After a month he terminated the experiment because all the monkeys would do was shit all over the keyboards.

 

[Wiseacre]

My favorite monkey experiment was the professor who attempted to prove or disprove the old "if a million monkeys typed for a million years, one of them would recreat Shakespeare"

So he wanted to see if monkeys truly typed in random patterns. He put ten keyboards in with ten monkeys and recorded what was typed. After a month he terminated the experiment because all the monkeys would do was shit all over the keyboards.

Lotta monkey shit around here too.

 

[sparky]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFgjGaIhkUs&feature=player_detailpage]YouTube - Dave Bartholomew - Monkey Speaks His Mind[/ame]

 

[NYcarbineer]

The OP's experiment explains why so many contemporary conservatives under the age of forty think Ronald Reagan was a great president.

 

[rightwinger]

I used to watch the Monkees on TV when I was eleven......I thought it was funny
Now, they just look stupid

Think about it

 

[007]

If you start with a cage containing five monkeys, and inside the cage hang a banana on a string from the top, and then you place a set of stairs under the banana, before long a monkey will go to the stairs and climb toward the banana.

As soon as he touches the stairs, you spray all the other monkeys with cold water. After a while another monkey makes an attempt with same result ... all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, put the cold water away. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and attempts to climb the stairs. To his shock, all of the other monkeys beat the crap out of him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys, replacing it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment... with enthusiasm.

Then, replace a third original monkey with a new one, followed by a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs he is attacked. Most of the monkeys that are beating him up have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs. Neither do they know why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

Finally, having replaced all of the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys will have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, none of the monkeys will try to climb the stairway for the banana.

Why, you ask? Because in their minds... that is the way it has always been!

This, my friends, is how Congress operates... and is why, from time to time, all of the monkeys need to be REPLACED AT THE SAME TIME.

 

[Iridescence]

OR the cycles be repeated accordingly...

 

[Valerie]

http://www.usmessageboard.com/politics/166223-the-monkey-syndrome.html#post3609869

 

[Valerie]

FTR - I think if the monkeys are hungry enough they will withstand a bit of cold water.

 

[JW Frogen]

You could replace the word monkeys for high school students and the original
post would remain true.

We are not that far down from the trees.

 

[uscitizen]

Waterboard those monkeys to get the truth from them.

 

[syrenn]

If you start with a cage containing five monkeys, and inside the cage hang a banana on a string from the top, and then you place a set of stairs under the banana, before long a monkey will go to the stairs and climb toward the banana.

As soon as he touches the stairs, you spray all the other monkeys with cold water. After a while another monkey makes an attempt with same result ... all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, put the cold water away. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and attempts to climb the stairs. To his shock, all of the other monkeys beat the crap out of him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys, replacing it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment... with enthusiasm.

Then, replace a third original monkey with a new one, followed by a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs he is attacked. Most of the monkeys that are beating him up have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs. Neither do they know why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

Finally, having replaced all of the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys will have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, none of the monkeys will try to climb the stairway for the banana.

Why, you ask? Because in their minds... that is the way it has always been!

This, my friends, is how Congress operates... and is why, from time to time, all of the monkeys need to be REPLACED AT THE SAME TIME.

So are you saying we need to

Start spraying them with cold water?
or
Beat them senseless when they come in?

 

[007]

If you start with a cage containing five monkeys, and inside the cage hang a banana on a string from the top, and then you place a set of stairs under the banana, before long a monkey will go to the stairs and climb toward the banana.

As soon as he touches the stairs, you spray all the other monkeys with cold water. After a while another monkey makes an attempt with same result ... all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, put the cold water away. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and attempts to climb the stairs. To his shock, all of the other monkeys beat the crap out of him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys, replacing it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment... with enthusiasm.

Then, replace a third original monkey with a new one, followed by a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs he is attacked. Most of the monkeys that are beating him up have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs. Neither do they know why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

Finally, having replaced all of the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys will have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, none of the monkeys will try to climb the stairway for the banana.

Why, you ask? Because in their minds... that is the way it has always been!

This, my friends, is how Congress operates... and is why, from time to time, all of the monkeys need to be REPLACED AT THE SAME TIME.

So are you saying we need to

Start spraying them with cold water?
or
Beat them senseless when they come in?

Neither. What the story is pointing out is that how Washington operates is broke, but none of the current bunch seem to remember why, so they're incapable of fixing it. So if we replaced the entire current bunch with all new people, they wouldn't suffer from the same stigma.