The Hundredth Monkey article review
Summary
The article The Hundredth Monkey by Ron Amundson talks about Lyll Watson’s theory of the Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon. Amundson has used information from other respected scientific articles. Lyll came up with this idea and referenced five highly respectable articles in Japanese primatologists such as Kinji, Masao, Syunzo, Kawamura, and Atsuo. Watson’s report has inspired much attention even though it is brief, with only less than two pages. Other sources and films rely on Watson as the sole source of information about the remarkable and supernatural behavior of primates. The monkeys in the case study are the Japanese macaques who live in a large number of different islands in Japan. These Japanese macaques had been in the study for years, looking at their behaviors and character. Between 1952 and 1953, the primatologists stated to provide the monkeys with some necessities such as food. The foods that they were given include sweet potatoes and wheat. The provision of these foods made them to raid the villages for easier accessibility and to be observed by the primatologists. The foods were left in an open field that made the monkeys develop new behaviors. One of the behaviors was developed by an 18 month old female named Imo from Koshima Island. Imo discovered that sands and grits that stuck on the potatoes could be removed by washing them in the ocean waters. Imo’s mother and age mates learned this trick from her and spread this innovation to other troops of monkeys. This is an irony because it is believed that the young learn from the older people, yet in this case, the older monkeys learnt this innovative skill from Imo. According to Watson (1986), the potato washing creative skill spread gradually until 1958. A remarkable event that occurred in fall 1958 in Koshima formed the basis of the Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon.
Critic
The author’s purpose in the article is to explain the history of the hundredth monkey phenomenon using Watson’s theory. Amundson has used the perspectives of some authors to emphasize his points. Amundson has used the theory of environmental change that affects the behaviors of organisms. The provision of food such as potatoes to the monkeys explains how they changed their behaviors of hunting to the raiding of villages for food. The monkeys further innovated the washing of potatoes with the ocean waters to remove the stuck sand and grits. Amundson’s purpose had been achieved by observing the behaviors of Japanese monkeys. An 18-month-old monkey, Imo, was perceived as the pioneer of washing potatoes along the coastal region of Koshima Island (Amundson 1986). This behavior was later learned by her mother and age mates who spread it to the other troops in the field. Watson emphasizes that the behavior of potato washing spread gradually until 1958 when a remarkable event occurred that formed the basis of the hundredth monkey phenomenon. The Japanese macaques had been in the study for several years, looking at their behaviors and character. Imo discovered the potato-washing phenomenon because they were freed.
Reference
Amundson, R. (1986). The hundredth monkey debunked. Whole Earth Review, 52, 19-24.