The monkeys are given a keyboard attached to a word processor that only activates the next letter necessary to write the complete works of Shakespeare. So if the word is "rose" the only letter on the keyboard that would work would be the R until the monkey hit it after banging on various random keys. When it finally hits the R, it would appear on the overhead screen facing the zoo visitors showing the progress of the writing. Then the O would be activated etc. When the word rose was typed by the monkey an attached despenser gives them a monkey treat and everybody watching would cheer and clap.

In this way the complete works of Shakespeare could be typed by monkeys as their progress was followed on a the large viewing screen above the enclosure.

They'd also probably figure out a way to hit all the keys faster so as to get their treats faster, perhaps by sweeping each row of keys with one finger. In this way monkeys would not only be writing the complete works of Shakespeare, they'd be getting better at it with practice.

I think Shakespeare would love it.
-- doctorremulac3, Jul 22 2019

Less of the poop slinging..would it be possible to have a mechanical Shakespeare taking dictation from the monkeys?
-- not_morrison_rm, Jul 25 2019


The monkeys would gradually get better at this, in the manner of a predictive texting algorithm, for example learning that a ‘w’ is much more likely to be followed by an ‘h’ or an ‘e’ than an ‘x’ or a ‘q’.
-- hippo, Jul 25 2019


What would be interesting would be to display Shakespeare's blocks of text for a period of time and have the monkeys copy for reward, then, get them to try and predict the words that come next in new blocks. Did Shakespeare truly have a handle on the essence of what it means to be a monkey?
-- wjt, Jul 26 2019


// The monkeys would gradually get better at this //

If that's the case, could the same process be applied to journalists ?
-- 8th of 7, Jul 26 2019


one of these days, someone will post the "Monkeys writing completely original literature"
-- theircompetitor, Jul 26 2019


There is still some debate over who Shakespeare actually was. It is therefore possible that he was, in fact, the lucky one of an infinite number of monkeys.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jul 26 2019


// someone will post //

But that will require an infinite number of halfbakers, shirley ?
-- 8th of 7, Jul 26 2019


Monkeys could be selectively bred to write Shakespeare : more actual words (then, after a few generations, phrases) typed out = more of a reproduction score.

To speed things up a little, they could be combined with another strain bred for pedantry skills.

//could the same process be applied to journalists ? // I'd bet on the monkeys.
-- FlyingToaster, Aug 21 2019



random, halfbakery