There is a theory, a phenomena called: The Hundredth Monkey – also the title of a book written by Ken Keyes in 1982 concerning Macaca fuscata Monkeys living on the island of Koshima. In 1952, Japanese scientists observing these Monkeys started to feed them sweet potatoes dropped in the sand. The Monkeys liked the taste but not the dirt. One young female named Imo washed her potato in a stream. Then taught her mother. In the next 6 years, all the young ones washed their potatoes.
From The Hundredth Monkey: “Only the adults who imitated their children learned this SOCIAL IMPROVEMENT. Other adults kept eating dirty 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 100th 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 100th Monkey somehow created an IDEOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH!
But… the most surprising thing observed by these scientists was that the habit of washing sweet potatoes then SPONTANEOUSLY JUMPED over the sea. Colonies of Monkeys on other islands and the mainland troop of Monkeys at Takasakiyama (Japan) began washing their sweet potatoes!”
What I walk away with is, if the SOCIAL IMPROVEMENT is good for the individual and then for the society; this IMPROVEMENT will create an IDEOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH and when a “critical number” is reached; the new behavior will SPONTANEOUSLY JUMP to the next population.
Before you throw this baby out with the bath water, consider MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, and her humble beginnings of one person carrying a message about driving drunk which has had a massive positive impact. Or Susan G. Komen’s sister missing her sibling, a victim of breast cancer, started with an idea and now, “Race for the Cure” has raised an incredible amount of money and awareness. Thousands of similar examples exist where one person had one reason to talk to one person.
Someone had to start the dialogue or take the action to improve the lives of the troop, tribe, or clan. (Whether they thought they needed the improvement or not.) Wash the first potato, hand out informational flyers, talk to neighbors, try something new to see if it actually works better than the old status quo. Something. That’s why we’re here: to learn more about Flowers, Weeds, and Trees improving lives.
======