Infinite MonkeysThe New York Times reminds me how fortunate I am in that I live far, far away from the Monkey Boys:
Something else happened during that chaotic scene, something that convinced Chen of the monkeys' true grasp of money. Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of money, after all, is its fungibility, the fact that it can be used to buy not just food but anything. During the chaos in the monkey cage, Chen saw something out of the corner of his eye that he would later try to play down but in his heart of hearts he knew to be true. What he witnessed was probably the first observed exchange of money for sex in the history of monkeykind. (Further proof that the monkeys truly understood money: the monkey who was paid for sex immediately traded the token in for a grape.)
And honeslty, can anyone doubt these are our Monkeys?: Possessing "a small brain, and it's pretty much focused on food and sex . . . a bottomless stomach of want . . . you can feed them marshmallows all day, they'll throw up and then come back for more.''
Yes, when the Monkeys did finally learn the value of a dollar, they "responded quite rationally to simple incentives; responded irrationally to risky gambles; failed to save; stole when they could; used money for food and, on occasion, sex."
Thems our Monkeys.
Posted by JamesPh. at July 13, 2005 11:10 PM"a small brain, and it's pretty much focused on food and sex"
Uhh - how is that different from the male of our species? :D
Posted by: LarryA at July 15, 2005 11:09 AMMonkey food and sex three diffrent topics. But it's a good article.
Posted by: Rose at July 16, 2005 03:35 AM