The 100th Monkey Project: A story about social change.

Via: The Hundredth Monkey
by Ken Keyes, Jr.



The Japanese monkey, Macaca Fuscata, had 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 monkey 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 by washing the potatoes 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.

Thus, when a certain critical number achieves an awareness, this new awareness may be communicated from mind to mind. Although the exact number may vary, this Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon means that when only a limited number of people know of a new way, it may remain the conscious property of these people.

But there is a point at which if only one more person tunes-in to a new awareness, a field is strengthened so that this awareness is picked up by almost everyone!

From the book "The Hundredth Monkey" by Ken Keyes, Jr.

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Public Speaker: Greg Stielstra - How Social Connection Influences Choice

The digital revolution has enabled latent human inclinations and changed the shape of social connection; transforming the way information, ideas and trends spread. Discover the new paradigm and why, if you want to influence culture, you must begin by influencing your neighbor.

What I gathered from this video is; reaching everyone at the same time will never be as effective as reaching those who've already established a clear evidenced power with what's called "social proof" - in other words hit up everyone whose cool because they'll affect the most amount of "approvals" and the many others who are like them will approve also...lol

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You can make a difference, Please Help Haiti (A list of organizations that aren't scams)

Canada's Governor General: (of Haitian Descent)
Michaelle Jean with Barack Obama


OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Haitian-born governor general, Michaelle Jean, broke down in tears as she reflected on the devastation to her native country. Jean is the representative of Queen Elizabeth, Canada's head of state, and said the situation in Haiti had monopolized her attention since the earthquake struck on Tuesday.



"The images and news reports are unbearable to watch -- so much distress, suffering and loss," she told reporters after attending a briefing session with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Harper and Jean were told the Canadian Forces were in the process of arranging for ships, helicopters and relief equipment to be sent to Haiti. A 20-strong military reconnaissance team was already flying in on Wednesday and the military's Disaster Assistance Response Team was being readied to be sent as soon as the advance group says exactly what is needed.

Governments will do what they can, but their are WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

Help Haiti through: The American Red Cross

Help Haiti through: The Mercy Corps

Help Haiti through: The Salvation Army

Help Haiti through: The American Jewish World Service

Help Haiti through: The action against hunger network

Help Haiti through: Hope for Haiti

Help Haiti through: Yele.org

Help Haiti through: Unicef

Help Haiti through: United Nations Foundation

Help Haiti through: the jewish federations.org

Help Haiti through: The Haitian health foundation

Help Haiti through: Meds for foods and kids

Your help can save lives...

Interesting Person: Jacque Fresco and "The Venus Project"

Via: The Venus Project




Jacque Fresco is an industrial designer and social engineer, author, lecturer, futurist, inventor, and the creator of The Venus Project. Fresco has worked as both designer and inventor in a wide range of fields spanning from bio-medical innovations to totally integrated social systems. I had heard about this guy before on Talk Radio but was re-introduced to his views when I had watched a documentary at home called "Zeitgeist Addendum" by Peter Joseph (viewable for free if you searched for it on YouTube). Mr Fresco believes his ideas would maximally benefit the greatest number of people and he states some of his ideas stem from his formative years during the Great Depression.

His views in summary: "Poverty is caused by the stifling of progress in technology, which itself is caused by the present world's profit-driven economic system. The progression of technology, if it were carried on independent of its profitability, would make more resources available to more people. This new-found abundance of resources would reduce the human tendency toward independence, corruption and greed, and instead make people more likely to help each other."




In the mid-1970s, he started The Venus Project and the non-profit organization Future by Design together with Roxanne Meadows (seen in the picture above together), and that reflects the culmination of Fresco’s life work. To this day he writes and lectures extensively on subjects ranging from the holistic design of sustainable cities, energy efficiency, natural resource management and advanced automation, focusing on the benefits it will bring to society.

My Conclusion: I came to understand that his views are rooted in something called "natural resource economics" which is a system designed to better understand the role of natural resources in the economy in order to develop more sustainable methods of managing those resources to ensure their availability to future generations.