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The Hundredth Monkey Effect

"Be The Difference You Want To See In The World. " -- mahatma Gandhi

The concept of the hundredth monkey effect originates with a story that Japanese monkeys spontaneously acquired a new behavior (washing sweet potatoes to get the sand off) once a certain critical number had acquired the skill. The story of the "Hundredth Monkey Effect" was published in the foreword to Lawrence Blair's Rhythms of Vision: The Changing Patterns of Myth and Consciousness (Amazon Link) in 1975, then by others including Lifetide (Amazon Link) , by Lyall Watson and The Hundredth Monkey (Amazon Link) by Ken keyes.

Critics, skeptics and "debunkers" claim that the scientific literature does not verify this claim. Bear in mind that professional "peer-reviewed" publications have gate keepers. Claims of so-called paranormal factors are not allowed in "prestigious", "respected" and "peer-reviewed" publications. Consequently, the story was passed on by more informal communication rather than in "peer-reviewed" and "peer-sanctioned" form.

The story of the Hundredth Monkey

This story is taken from the book Lifetide by Lyall Watson, pp. 147-148. Bantam Books 1980. This book gives other fascinating details.

"The Japanese monkey, Macaca fuscata, has been observed in the wild for a period of over 30 years. In 1952, on the island of Koshima scientists were providing monkeys with sweet potatoes dropped in the sand. The monkeys liked the taste of the raw sweet potatoes, but they found the dirt unpleasant."

" An 18-month-old female named Imo found she could solve the problem in a nearby stream. She taught this trick to her mother. Her playmates also learned this new way and they taught their mothers, too. This cultural innovation was gradually picked up by various monkeys before the eyes of the scientists."

"Between 1952 and 1958, all the young monkeys learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes to make them more palatable. Only the adults who imitated their children learned this social improvement. Other adults kept eating the dirty sweet potatoes."

"Then something startling took place. In the autumn of 1958, a certain number of Koshima monkeys were washing sweet potatoes — the exact number is not known. Let us suppose that when the sun rose one morning there were 99 monkeys on Koshima Island who had learned to wash their sweet potatoes. Let's further suppose that later that morning, the hundredth monkey learned to wash potatoes."

Then It Happened!

"By that evening almost everyone in the tribe was washing sweet potatoes before eating them. The added energy of this hundredth monkey somehow created an ideological breakthrough!"

But notice

"A most surprising thing observed by these scientists was that the habit of washing sweet potatoes then jumped over the sea — Colonies of monkeys on other islands and the mainland troop of monkeys at Takasakiyama began washing their sweet potatoes!"

So, is it true? Following critical review by a number of individuals, Watson admitted that he may have exaggerated. The popularity of the concept was powerful and worldwide. So was the controversy that it generated.

Another perspective is offered by Elaine Myers (The Hundredth Monkey Revisited: Going back to the original sources)

"Instead of an example of the spontaneous transmission of ideas, I think the story of the Japanese monkeys is a good example of the propagation of a paradigm shift, as in Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. The truly innovative points of view tend to come from those on the edge between youth and adulthood. The older generation continues to cling to the world view they grew up with. The new idea does not become universal until the older generation withdraws from power, and a younger generation matures within the new point of view."

"What the research does suggest, however, is that holding positive ideas (as important a step as this is) is not sufficient by itself to change the world. We still need direct communication between individuals, we need to translate our ideas into action, and we need to recognize the freedom of choice of those who choose alternatives different from our own."


The Path The Path is a book about the Spiritual journey that we all take. Who are we, why are we here, what is consciousness, what is enlightenment, how do we grow Spiritually? There are detailed instructions on basic and advanced meditation and the Kuji-In or nine syllables meditation from Hindu, Buddhist and Ninja traditions. There are also instructions on using forgiveness and recapitulation to recover energy and resolve karma.
Affiliate Disclosure: The author will earn a commission if you purchase from links on this site. There is no additional cost to the purchaser.

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