Two researchers from Australia have put a new spin on the "infinite monkey theorem," a concept suggesting that given infinite time, a monkey could eventually type out the works of Shakespeare. Stephen Woodcock and Jay Falletta led a peer-reviewed study demonstrating the impossibility of this scenario, revealing that the time required for a monkey to replicate Shakespeare's literary contributions far exceeds the lifespan of the universe itself.
Their findings challenge the classic thought-experiment frequently used to illustrate probability principles. The researchers employed calculations not just for an individual monkey, but also for the world's chimpanzee population, estimated at about 200,000. The odds show that even with every chimp typing one key every second until the universe ends, it's unlikely they would produce the Bard's works. Specifically, there's only a 5% chance a single chimp could type the word "bananas" within its lifetime, and the chance of random sentence formation, such as “I chimp, therefore I am,” stands at one in 10 million billion billion.
The study suggests that increasing chimp populations or improving typing speeds would not make this task feasible. Their calculations are based on the prevalent heat death hypothesis for the universe's conclusion, which posits a scenario of slow cooling and decay rather than immediacy.
“Such findings categorize the theorem within a series of probability paradoxes, where the concept of infinite resources leads to conclusions that starkly contrast with the realities dictated by our universe's constraints,” Associate Professor Woodcock stated in response to their research conclusions.
Their findings challenge the classic thought-experiment frequently used to illustrate probability principles. The researchers employed calculations not just for an individual monkey, but also for the world's chimpanzee population, estimated at about 200,000. The odds show that even with every chimp typing one key every second until the universe ends, it's unlikely they would produce the Bard's works. Specifically, there's only a 5% chance a single chimp could type the word "bananas" within its lifetime, and the chance of random sentence formation, such as “I chimp, therefore I am,” stands at one in 10 million billion billion.
The study suggests that increasing chimp populations or improving typing speeds would not make this task feasible. Their calculations are based on the prevalent heat death hypothesis for the universe's conclusion, which posits a scenario of slow cooling and decay rather than immediacy.
“Such findings categorize the theorem within a series of probability paradoxes, where the concept of infinite resources leads to conclusions that starkly contrast with the realities dictated by our universe's constraints,” Associate Professor Woodcock stated in response to their research conclusions.
