The Hundredth Monkey

The Hundredth Monkey
by
Ken Keyes

The Japanese monkey, Macaca Fuscata, has been observed in the wild for over 40 years. In 1952, on the island of Koshina, scientists started feeding the monkeys by dropping sweet potatoes in the sand. While the monkeys liked the taste of the potatoes, they didn't like the sand.

An 18-month-old female named Imo found she could solve the problem by washing the potatoes in a nearby stream. She taught this trick to her mother and to her playmates, who also taught their mothers. Over a period of several years, all the young monkeys on the island learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes to make them more palatable. But only the adults who imitated the children learned this trick. Other adults kept eating the sandy sweet potatoes.

Then something startling took place. In the autumn of 1958, a certain number of Koshima monkeys were washing their sweet potatoes - nobody knows how many. For the sake of the story, let's suppose that when the sun rose one morning there were 99 monkeys on Koshima Island who had learned to wash their sweet potatoes. Let's further suppose that later that morning, a hundredth monkey learned to wash the potatoes.

That's when it happened. The additional energy of this hundredth monkey seemed to create an ideological breakthrough for the entire species. By that evening, nearly every monkey in the tribe was washing their sweet potatoes before eating them.

But that's not all. The most surprising thing observed by the scientists was that the habit of washing sweet potatoes somehow jumped overseas. Soon colonies of monkeys on other islands, and the mainland troop of monkeys at Takasakiyama were also washing their sweet potatoes!

Although the exact number may vary, the "Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon" means that when a limited group has a certain realization, it remains the conscious property of that few. But, at a certain point of "critical mass," when just one more mind tunes-in to the new idea, the field is exponentially strengthened, and the awareness is picked up by almost everyone!

Just think what this bit of science can mean for mankind. Every time we adopt a new habit or belief that helps our community, we increase the collective wisdom of humanity and get one person closer to changing the world !