Two Australian mathematicians have questioned the famous saying that if a monkey types randomly on a typewriter for an infinite amount of time, it would eventually write the complete works of William Shakespeare. This idea, known as the “infinite monkey theorem,” is often used to explain concepts of probability and randomness.
However, a new study by Sydney researchers Stephen Woodcock and Jay Falletta shows that it would take far longer than the lifespan of the universe for a monkey to recreate Shakespeare’s plays, sonnets, and poems. While the theorem is mathematically true, they argue that it is misleading.
The study looked at both a single monkey’s typing abilities and the global population of chimpanzees, estimated at around 200,000. The results indicated that even if every chimp typed at one key per second until the end of the universe, they still wouldn’t be close to typing out Shakespeare’s works. A single chimp has only a 5% chance of typing the word “bananas” in its lifetime, and the chance of typing a random sentence like “I chimp, therefore I am” is just one in 10 million billion billion.
The researchers concluded that, even with faster typing or more chimps, it would never be realistic to expect monkeys to produce meaningful writing. Their calculations were based on the heat death theory, which describes how the universe will expand and cool over time until everything fades away.
“This study shows that the infinite monkey theorem is just another probability puzzle that doesn’t align with the realities of our universe,” said Associate Professor Woodcock.
