Scientists debunk 'infinite monkey theorem;' primates will never type Shakespeare
Two Australian mathematicians have debunked the widely popular "infinite monkey theorem," which states that a monkey typing randomly could eventually write Shakespeare's complete works. For their study, the researchers placed finite limits on the monkeys' typing capabilities, assuming a monkey typing one key per second for 30 years on a 30-key keyboard. They found that replicating Shakespeare's works would take longer than the universe's lifespan, which is estimated to end in about a googol years (one followed by 100 zeroes).
Study overlooks practical concerns, focuses on typing capabilities
The study didn't consider practical issues like food and survival. It only focused on the typing skills of monkeys. The results indicated a paltry 5% chance of a monkey writing the word "bananas" in its lifetime. Notably, Shakespeare's canon, which has 884,647 words, doesn't feature the word "banana." The Shakespeare canon is broadly defined by the 36 plays published in the First Folio, which is a collection of plays produced seven years after his death.
Experiment expanded to include chimpanzees
The researchers extended their experiment to chimpanzees, the closest relatives of humans. They calculated their estimates based on the current population of about 200,000 chimps on Earth, assuming the number would remain constant forever. Even with so many potential typists, success was highly improbable. Co-author Stephen Woodcock said, "If every atom in the universe was a universe in itself, it still wouldn't happen."
Previous trial with monkeys produced insignificant results
In fact, a previous trial with six Sulawesi crested macaque monkeys and a computer for four weeks yielded just five pages of text, mostly filled with the letter S. :This finding places the theorem among other probability puzzles and paradoxes... where using the idea of infinite resources gives results that don't match up with what we get when we consider the constraints of our universe," Woodcock said about the work.
