The Monkey Principle

Tristan said:
What does this have to do with online forums? Be specific. Who are the "new monkeys?" What is the online forum equivalent of climbing the ladder to get bananas?

Lay this out for me, I'm not sophisticated enough for your riddles.
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I'll take a shot :) not putting words in the op's mouth.....

"Jumping on the bandwagon" would be a good summation, with the caveat that they (average poster) have no idea why they are jumping on, and the people they are following ("respected posters") have been conditioned to believe what they believe. The herd mentality is actually very common in all walks of life, I don't worry about that too much. In here I worry about the "respected posters," the opinion leaders..... let's just say, there are reasons why pool stays in the dark ages.
 
Whole lot of screeching going on....

The Chinchilla said:
I couldn't agree more. People don't really think anymore, they find somebody they feel represents them, and regurgitate what that person thinks. Unfortunately, that person is many times extremely misguided himself, and it perpetuates. The recent assertions i've seen, from instructors no less, that practicing for more than an hour is "dangerous" and "counterproductive" to one's game is a perfect example.
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I haven't taken any lessons from any instructors who have said that practicing for more than an hour is "dangerous" and "counterproductive" but I have heard similar statements from others.

I believe that you should practice for far more than an hour at a time, although a varied practice routine is what I recommend.

There's a lot of other screeching going on these days, that is supposed to be noble works but all it is a lot of monkey noise.
 
JAM said:
Smorgie! That was what he wrote to me August 8, 2003. :smile:

JAM wrote:
I'm sorry about that. Let me find my way back through this crowd of chattering
monkeys here and get back to my designated Newbie corner.
JAM (Monkey see, monkey do?)


Smorgie replied:
(*<~ Nope ! Monkey see, monkey do-do...... imo
NEXT,
Doug
~>*(((>< Big fish eat Little fish ><)))*<~
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:smile:
.....................
 
JoeyA said:
:smile:
.....................
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Monkey see, monkey do! :D

rivermonkeys.gif
 
JoeyA said:
I haven't taken any lessons from any instructors who have said that practicing for more than an hour is "dangerous" and "counterproductive" but I have heard similar statements from others.

I believe that you should practice for far more than an hour at a time, although a varied practice routine is what I recommend.

There's a lot of other screeching going on these days, that is supposed to be noble works but all it is a lot of monkey noise.
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Practicing is the most difficult portion of improving or keeping your game. I may practice for an hour or two before overheating.:angry:
 
The story is so very true JoeyA. However the 2nd hypothesis was not tested in your case. Remove a monkey and ad in a hungry 900lb Gorilla. The other monkeys climb the ladder and offer the bananas to the Gorilla. :)
 
A 100% manufactured twist on Pavlov's dogs

Koop said:
Nice sociology test that equates perfectly to pool forums.

Well done, sir.
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dr9ball said:
The story is so very true JoeyA. However the 2nd hypothesis was not tested in your case. Remove a monkey and ad in a hungry 900lb Gorilla. The other monkeys climb the ladder and offer the bananas to the Gorilla. :)
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And actually, the "real world" situation wasn't tested either: remove a monkey from that established "clique," replace him/her with a new monkey, and watch how quickly that new monkey not only gets his/her *ss kicked, but KILLED as well -- without even getting the chance to go near that ladder. You don't even need to do the ice water treatment. (Zookeepers -- and anyone that watches a good animal documentary for that matter -- know that monkeys are "tribe" creatures that don't bring in outsiders too easily, or at least not without a lot of gradual introduction, and firm hierarchical establishment along the way, with the end result being that monkey relegated to "omega" status.)

Yes, it's a great fable to show what goes on in forums (not just pool forums), but it's a manufactured story, with no basis in fact. (It's actually a creative [and 100% created] twist on Ivan Pavlov's cruel/inhumane "conditioned reflex" experiments on dogs and fish.)

At the same time, it's interesting how the human species, having inherited the "tribe" gene from ancient ancestors, can mimic this mob behavior. Forums can bring out the "mob" in all of us.

-Sean
 
sfleinen said:
And actually, the "real world" situation wasn't tested either: remove a monkey from that established "clique," replace him/her with a new monkey, and watch how quickly that new monkey not only gets his/her *ss kicked, but KILLED as well -- without even getting the chance to go near that ladder. You don't even need to do the ice water treatment. (Zookeepers -- and anyone that watches a good animal documentary for that matter -- know that monkeys are "tribe" creatures that don't bring in outsiders too easily, or at least not without a lot of gradual introduction, and firm hierarchical establishment along the way, with the end result being that monkey relegated to "omega" status.)

Yes, it's a great fable to show what goes on in forums (not just pool forums), but it's a manufactured story, with no basis in fact. (It's actually a creative [and 100% created] twist on Ivan Pavlov's cruel/inhumane "conditioned reflex" experiments on dogs and fish.)

At the same time, it's interesting how the human species, having inherited the "tribe" gene from ancient ancestors, can mimic this mob behavior. Forums can bring out the "mob" in all of us.

-Sean
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I think Sean is inching toward the ladder....who wants to hit him first?!?:cool:
 
Neil said:
I like bananas. In fact, I like starting at the edge of the ladder, then shifting to the center to climb it. Hit away, I still get the bananas, and you guys don't.:rotflmao1::rotflmao1::rotflmao1::rotflmao1::rotflmao1:
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What they didn't mention in the story is that the ladder has wheels, and if you try to address the ladder from the side, you're going to fall and bust yo' *ss when the ladder takes off! :p :D

-Sean
 
Neil said:
I like bananas. In fact, I like starting at the edge of the ladder, then shifting to the center to climb it. Hit away, I still get the bananas, and you guys don't.:rotflmao1::rotflmao1::rotflmao1::rotflmao1::rotflmao1:
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I like to let someone else get close to the ladder then I shove them real hard hoping the ladder will knock some of the bananas down on the ground. While the rest of the monkeys are fighting over how to carry off the most bananas, I slip in and take just enough to eat.
 
JoeyA said:
I like to let someone else get close to the ladder then I shove them real hard hoping the ladder will knock some of the bananas down on the ground. While the rest of the monkeys are fighting over how to carry off the most bananas, I slip in and take just enough to eat.
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You can have the bananas. I'm heading over to the Texas Roadhouse and get me a nice, big 'ol 12-ounce sirloin. Gotta ease the carnivorous cravings :thumbup:!!!

Maniac
 
Hey, JoeyA.....

JoeyA said:
This was written by one of RSB's members from long ago. RSB is and was a Internet Newsgroup where many of us posted about pool years ago.

Unfortunately, this reminds me a lot of what's happening on AZ Billiards Main Forum. Maybe it's just the irony in the story that makes me think it is funny and sad at the same time but it sure makes me hope that things will change.
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Social Scientists put eight monkeys in a room. In the middle of the room is a ladder, leading to a bunch of bananas hanging from a hook on the ceiling. Each time a monkey tries to climb the ladder, all the monkeys are sprayed with ice water, which makes them miserable. Soon enough, whenever a monkey attempts to climb the ladder, all of the other monkeys, not wanting to be sprayed, set upon him and beat him up. Soon, none of the eight monkeys ever attempts to climb the ladder. One of the original monkeys is then removed, and a new monkey is put in the room. Seeing the bananas and the ladder, he wonders why none of the other monkeys are doing the obvious, but, undaunted, he immediately begins to climb the ladder. All the other monkeys fall upon him and beat him silly.

He has no idea why. However, he no longer attempts to climb the ladder. A second original monkey is removed and replaced. The newcomer again attempts to climb the ladder, but all the other monkeys hammer the crap out of him. This includes the previous new monkey, who, grateful that he's not on the receiving end this time, participates in the beating because all the other monkeys are doing it. However, he has no idea why he's attacking the new monkey.

One by one, all the original monkeys are replaced. Eight new monkeys are now in the room. None of them have ever been sprayed by ice water. None of them attempt to climb the ladder. All of them will enthusiastically beat up any new monkey who tries, without having any idea why.

Unfortunately you are this week's new monkey...
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I promise to stay clear of the ladder! I could use a little ice water though!
What happy to Earl?
Regards,
Lock N Load.
 
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