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A few months ago, I came across an interesting experiment involving change. It is called the Monkey Experiment or Paradox and it goes something like this.
Start with a cage containing five monkeys.
Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water.
After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result - all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, and the other monkeys will try to prevent it.
Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him.
After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be hurt.
Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked.
After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys has ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana. Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done round here.
From http://themonkeyparadox.blogspot.com.ar/
The moment I heard this story, hundreds of thoughts rushed to my head. It is definitely easier to remain on known territory, but it is also true that life is full of changes, especially life nowadays. As far as technology is concerned, we are constantly bombarded with new tools, new sites, new apps. The moment we figure out how to properly use the new app we've recently downloaded on our phone, a new update comes out and we need to start all over again. Easy? No. Frustrating? Incredibly. But we can look on the bright side and understand that every new thing we learn is creating new neurological pathways, thus keeping our brains young - and updated.
That is the purpose of this bi-weekly newsletter. To share with you what I've discovered and learnt: new trends, new apps, new tools that will help you navigate the tricky waters of an invariably changing technological world.
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