From what I understand, the infinite monkey theorem―that a monkey given infinite time at a typewriter will produce the entire works of Shakespeare―is not mean to discount the Bard's specialness and importance. In fact, if Borges was correct, some form of the theorem existed for more than a millennium before Shakespeare was born. It's intended to prove that given an infinite amount of time, seemingly impossible or at least improbable events will occur. Of course monkeys tend to have a short attention span. In the real world, there's always a limiter.
Don't want to sign off without noting that the Mekons made a pretty funny visual joke about it.
2 comments:
The story I like that has a similar premise is the one that states:
It’s technically possible for a tornado to pass through an airplane junkyard and fully assemble a working 747, but it’s very unlikely. Of course if it's infinity we're talking about there's a good chance every other motorized vehicle would have been produced too, never mind lady's fashions.
Borges had some thoughts about infinity too in Labyrinths, nor was he the first:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Library_of_Babel
Nice album cover.. I think they got it.
That's another vivid way to visualize the principle. Of course if you had to let an infinite number of tornadoes pass through an infinite number of airplane junkyards, well, you'd really need to make sure your insurance premiums were paid up.
Recursion is a big idea in mathematics, notably including the Fibonacci sequence. It's also turned up in biology and computer science. Borges brought it into the realm of literature, and more amazingly did so in a way that wasn't at all dry.
Who doesn't love a bonobo and 70s office equipment?
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