2-3-08 - The Hundredth Monkey

The Hundredth Monkey is a book expounding the “hundredth monkey phenomenon” which refers to a sudden spontaneous and mysterious leap of consciousness achieved when an allegedly “critical mass” point is reached. The idea of the hundredth monkey phenomenon comes from Dr. Lyall Watson in his book Lifetide (1979). Watson, who has a Ph.D. in ethology for work done at the London Zoo with Desmond (”The Naked Ape”) Morris, was writing about several studies done in the 1960’s by several Japanese primatologists of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Watson alleged that the scientists were “reluctant to publish [the whole story] for fear of ridicule.” He writes that he had “to gather the rest of the story from personal anecdotes and bits of folklore among primate researchers, because most of them are still not quite sure what happened.” So, wrote Watson:

I am forced to improvise the details, but as near as I can tell, this is what seems to have happened. In the autumn of that year an unspecified number of monkeys on Koshima were washing sweet potatoes in the sea. . . . Let us say, for argument’s sake, that the number was ninety-nine and that at eleven o’clock on a Tuesday morning, one further convert was added to the fold in the usual way. But the addition of the hundredth monkey apparently carried the number across some sort of threshold, pushing it through a kind of critical mass, because by that evening almost everyone was doing it. Not only that, but the habit seems to have jumped natural barriers and to have appeared spontaneously, like glycerine crystals in sealed laboratory jars, in colonies on other islands and on the mainland in a troop at Takasakiyama.Yes, according to Watson, one monkey taught another to wash sweet potatoes who taught another who taught another and soon all the monkeys on the island were washing potatoes where no monkey had ever washed potatoes before. When the “hundredth” monkey learned to wash potatoes, suddenly and spontaneously and mysteriously monkeys on other islands, with no physical contact with the potato-washing cult, started washing potatoes!Now, I will extrapolate that theory and say if all Dodger fans  collectively raise our consciousness to a critical mass threshold of belief in the Dodgers winning the World Series in 2008, we can will the Dodgers to victory. I am driving the bandwagon. Jump on!

DODGER NEWS:

1. Got my tickets to Vero Beach for 4 games this spring, including the final game EVER at Dodgertown.
2. The March 29th game at the Coliseum verses the Red Sox  was sold out yesterday!
3. I haven’t said anything as yet about Ramon Martinez - I know a lot of fans were upset by this move, but it is merely insurance in case Abreu or Hu goes down or just flat-out flops.  Martinez will begin at AAA or retire as a Dodger barring injury.
4. We are nearing single-digits until the pitchers and catchers report!
5. It’s Super Sunday - Party Responsibly!
6. Pats 31 - Giants 27  19-0!  Quite a feat!