A Joke About Monkeys
Posted: 2003-08-19 12:45am
There is an experiment I've heard about, one that involves five monkeys.
Basically, you take five monkeys and put them in a very large cage. At one end of the cage, there is a ladder and on that ladder is a large juicy banana. Naturally, one of the monkeys will see and smell the banana and go and climb the ladder to get it. Immediately upon starting to climb, all the other monkeys are sprayed with ice cold water. This will happen again and again until any time a monkey will attempt to climb the ladder, the other monkeys will attack him, and violently beat him. After a few iterations of this, no monkey will attempt to climb the ladder.
Then one monkey is taken out and replaced by a fresh monkey. This monkey will notice the banana and go to the ladder with baited breath for a delicious banana. The other monkeys will attack him like before. After a few times of this, the new monkey will no longer attempt to climb the ladder.
Now, another one of the original monkeys is pulled and replaced with a new one. It, like the others, will go for the banana, and the other monkeys will attack them. The monkey that was introduced last time will join the monkeys willingly and help spank the new monkey.
This can be done a third, fourth, and fifth time. Finally, you have a cage of five monkeys who will attack any monkey that attempts to climb the ladder, but none of them know why exactly, only that that is the way things are done around here.
Thus corporate policies are born.
Basically, you take five monkeys and put them in a very large cage. At one end of the cage, there is a ladder and on that ladder is a large juicy banana. Naturally, one of the monkeys will see and smell the banana and go and climb the ladder to get it. Immediately upon starting to climb, all the other monkeys are sprayed with ice cold water. This will happen again and again until any time a monkey will attempt to climb the ladder, the other monkeys will attack him, and violently beat him. After a few iterations of this, no monkey will attempt to climb the ladder.
Then one monkey is taken out and replaced by a fresh monkey. This monkey will notice the banana and go to the ladder with baited breath for a delicious banana. The other monkeys will attack him like before. After a few times of this, the new monkey will no longer attempt to climb the ladder.
Now, another one of the original monkeys is pulled and replaced with a new one. It, like the others, will go for the banana, and the other monkeys will attack them. The monkey that was introduced last time will join the monkeys willingly and help spank the new monkey.
This can be done a third, fourth, and fifth time. Finally, you have a cage of five monkeys who will attack any monkey that attempts to climb the ladder, but none of them know why exactly, only that that is the way things are done around here.
Thus corporate policies are born.