Comments on: More ‘Evidence’ of Intelligent Design Shot Down by Science

By: David G

David G — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:11:48 +0000

Another way of looking at this monkey business would be to think about how random any sequence of letters (or numbers) is. How could you tell, just by looking at them, if a sequence was generated randomly?

If we had a completely random text generator select 11 letters (at random!) it might give us “iwhacrtgsel” or “abcdefghijk” or even “derrenbrown”. As randomly generated sequences of 11 letters go, they are just as likely as any other sequence, but from those three you’d probably only consider the first one to be a random sequence of letters (it wasn’t).

The distinction between “random” and “randomly generated” can be an important one.

However you look at it, if you place an infinite amount of monkeys on an infinite amount of typewriters, you’re going to get a lot of poo.

By: flapjack

flapjack — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 13:38:26 +0000

And while I’m in a nit-picking mood I agree with Martin… you don’t get a Sistine chapel by randomly throwing buckets of paint at a canvas.
1. First you have to build a chapel. I suggest you chuck an infinite quantity of bricks, cement and rooftiles about before you start laying on the undercoat.
2. The painting I think you’re refering to is part fresco and part mural, so rather than waste your cash on a canvas you should be lobbing it at the ceiling and walls
Sorry, I think I should stop now… I’m talking Pollocks again!
I’m all overcome with emulsion!

By: flapjack

flapjack — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 13:05:01 +0000

Actually seeing as according to the theory of evolution we all decended from apes or ape like beings, I’d say that Shakespeare IS the infinite ‘monkey’ who produced the complete works of Shakespeare (unless you believe physicist and philosopher Francis Bacon who claimed he ghost-wrote the lot). QED. Who says monkeys can’t be emotionally intelligent?
And please feel free to spank this monkey as hard as you like

By: The King of Wrong

The King of Wrong — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:08:25 +0000

As others have noted, infinite monkeys x infinite time will give you every sequence of letters that can exist… including the complete works of Shakespeare, a million copies of the same with a single misspelled word, billions more with two misspellings, every other book ever written or unwritten, flawed versions of those, and truly astronomical amounts of gibberish. The monkeys wouldn’t be able to tell them apart, of course.

By: Single Serving Jack

Single Serving Jack — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:41:26 +0000

@phillis – given and infinite number of monkeys bashing on typewriters for an infinite time you would get everything ever written by anyone at any time. Ethan is right, it’s purely a matter of the right sequence of letters occurring, and given the infinite nature of the set up, that sequence is certain to occur at some point. Intelligence has nothing to do with it.

*assumes the position*

By: Colin

Colin — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:50:52 +0000

Sorry, Phillis… Next in line for a spanking please. A (greatly) simplified version of the “million monkeys” would be: toss enough coins and you’ll get 10 heads in a row. It’s only about getting the right sequence, not what the sequence represents. But that’s a tangent from the story above, anyways (sorry, my fault for bringing it up).

Can I have the red paddle with the sparkles, please?

By: Nopke

Nopke — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:46:24 +0000

Oww .. again this intelligent design debate? Who cares! Does it function properly!? That’s what medical science should keep focussed .. And the answer will be …NOOOOOOOO .. by far not all the time … therefor I would not call it intelligent design anyway.

By: Ethan

Ethan — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:19:14 +0000

Another gap God gets evicted from..

I don\’t get you there Phillis, I always took it that the million monkeys would eventually get it right because Shakespeare\’s complete works is just a sequence of individual letters. So given an infinite amount of random keyboard bashing those pesky monkeys would eventually hit all the right keys to duplicate the sequence of those letters.

Although how they\’d know to stop when they finally did it no-one has yet to tell me..

Perhaps i need a spank?

By: 80s Craig

80s Craig — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:54:43 +0000

@phillis – kind of makes me want to keep quoting it….

By: phillis

phillis — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:34:53 +0000

Can I just point out that if you had an infinite amount of monkeys on an infinite amount of type writers – you would NOT get the complete works of Shakespeare as that requires an emotional intelligence that would not be present or occur naturally. Just like the girl who was raised by wolves – she had no communication skills with other humans despite being human.

It’s a phrase I hear all the time – but it’s incorrect so drop it now or I’ll spank the lot of you.