Our minds on media.

Musings on the effects of media on cognition.

A Million Penguins Typing Produces What?

In 1913, mathematician Émile Borel theorized that an infinite number of typing primates will eventually produce the works of Shakespeare. While early experiments with Sulawesi Crested Macaques proved not so promising, Penguin books decided that the experiment had a better shot at working if they use humans instead. While some folks were busy lamenting the lack of good hyperfiction online, Penguin books launched the first wiki novel on February 1st. Their progress report is an engaging read (if a bit overly optimistic) while the novel itself so far… not so much. But it’s only been six days and the monkey thing did technically require an infinite amount of time and monkeys, so many are remain hopeful

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