Write a long story on monkey and the mirror
Answers
Explanation:
Some days, when you view yourself in the mirror, you might look really good. Other days, you might not be so happy with what you see. Either way, you know who you're looking at: You.
Capuchin monkeys have a different experience, a recent study discovered. When these little primates see themselves in a mirror, they know they are looking at something interesting. They're just not exactly sure what it is.
An adult male capuchin monkey touches his reflection. In the experiment, a mesh barrier separated the monkey from the mirror.
An adult male capuchin monkey touches his reflection. In the experiment, a mesh barrier separated the monkey from the mirror.
Marietta Dindo
Scientists define an animal as "self-aware" if it touches a painted spot on its own face when it looks in a mirror. People start to recognize themselves in this way at around age 2. Apes and dolphins figure it out in adulthood. Most monkeys, on the other hand, ignore facial markings. They just don't understand that the image in the mirror is their own.
To find out whether capuchins are self-aware, psychologist Frans B.M. de Waal of Emory University in Atlanta and his colleagues studied eight female and six male monkeys that live at a research facility in Georgia.
Each capuchin entered a test chamber, where it was presented with three different situations. In the first, the monkey saw an unfamiliar monkey of the same sex on the other side of a glass barrier and behind a mesh screen. In the second scenario, the capuchin saw a monkey of the same sex that it was familiar with. Finally, it confronted its own reflection in a mirror behind the screen. The tests lasted for 15 minutes. Each monkey faced each test scenario twice.
When monkeys saw other monkeys that they already knew, they didn't do much. When shown an unfamiliar monkey, males made threatening gestures. Females looked nervous and avoided eye contact. These were all natural reactions.
When the monkeys saw their own reflections, however, something odd happened. Females looked into their own eyes and acted friendly. They swayed and smacked their lips, as if they were flirting. Males also made more eye contact with their reflections than they did with the animals in the other two scenarios. Unlike females, though, they squealed, curled up on the floor, tried to escape the chamber, and otherwise acted confused and distressed.
Explanation:
While all the other monkeys were busy doing the same old thing, the two thoughtful monkeys began collecting the boxes that were strewn across the cage. After dragging them to the middle, they then rearranged them one on top of the other. And just like that, this pair of innovative primate engineers were able to easily reach the bunch of delicious bananas, much to the delight of their less creative monkey friends.
The Lesson: From a very early age we are conditioned to believe its okay to go along if it will help us get along. And frequently this works for us. Unfortunately, most of us never break out of this type of thinking. As a result, we are like the majority of the monkeys in the story whose inability to deviate from the status quo left them hungrily staring at a delicious prize that was seemingly out of reach.
What I find particularly noteworthy about Kohler’s experiment is that, as is often the case, the solution to the problem (in this case, building a ladder out of the boxes), was right before their eyes the entire time. Only two monkeys out of the entire group, however, chose to look beyond their circumstances. Seeing the boxes not only for what they were, but also for what they could be.
Here’s my point. The only way you can ever expect to be more and do more with your life is to understand that sometimes, you have to be willing to go above and beyond what others are doing around you. Taking the path of least resistance or settling for “good enough” just because that’s what everyone else is doing just won’t bring home the bananas. So be willing to take a risk. Don’t be afraid to unleash your entrepreneurial spirit on the world. Choose to live life by your rules, not someone else’s. As George Bernard Shaw so aptly reminds us, “The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them , make them.” Be that person.
For you leaders and managers reading this, there’s another bonus lesson from this story. If you want to take your organization to the next level, look for those in your ranks who are willing to think differently, act boldly and do more. Find those innovative “monkeys” in your midst and promote them while passing the close-minded “monkeys” to your competitors…and watch who ends up with the bigger bunch of bananas at the end of the day.