Chimpanzees Could Never Randomly Type the Complete Works of Shakespeare, Study FindsWhile testing the infinite monkey theorem, mathematicians found that the odds of a chimpanzee typing even a short phrase like I chimp, therefore I am before the death of the universe are 1 in 10 million billion billion The universe will die before chimpanzees have a chance to type the complete works of Shakespeare, researchers found. Found Image Holdings / Corbis via Getty ImagesCould a chimpanzee ever randomly type the complete works of Shakespeare? According to a pair of researchers in Australia, the answer is no.Mathematicians Stephen Woodcock and Jay Falletta set out to test the infinite monkey theorem, a famous thought experiment that suggests that an unlikely event can occur, given an infinite amount of time and resources, because of random chance.More specifically, the theorem states that if one monkey had an infinite amount of time with a keyboard (or if there were an infinite number of monkeys), they would eventually type any given textincluding Shakespeares works.Mathematically, the theorem is correct. But, practically, its misleading given the constraints of our finite universe, the researchers conclude in a new study published in the journalFranklin Open.Yes, it is true that given infinite resources, any text of any length would inevitably be produced eventually, Woodcock tellsCNNs Amarachi Orie. While true, this also has no relevance to our own universe, as reaching infinity in resources is not something [that] can ever happen.The theorems origins are somewhat mysterious, but its usually attributed to French mathematician mile Borel or English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley. The concept may even have roots in AristotlesMetaphysics.But Woodcock and Fallettaboth from Australias University of Technology Sydneywanted to put the theorem to the test. To do that, they ran a series of calculations using realistic but generous figures.For example, they assumed that the worlds current population of chimpanzeesaround 200,000would remain constant for the duration of the universe. They also factored in the heat death of the universe, which they assumed would take place in around a googol of years (a large figure written as the number 1, followed by 100 zeros).They decided to focus on chimpanzees, which they assumed could type one key per second on a keyboard with 30 keys. They also used the animals average lifespan of around 30 years.Even if all the chimpanzees in the world typed for the entire lifespan of the universe, they would almost certainly never reproduce Shakespeares complete works, according to the researchers calculations.Beyond that, a single chimpanzee has just a 5 percent chance of randomly typing the word bananas within its lifetime, they found. The odds of a chimpanzee typing a short phrase like I chimp, therefore I am are 1 in 10 million billion billion.Put together, all of Shakespeares sonnets, plays and poems add up to nearly 885,000 wordsand not one of them is bananas.We did the [math] from one monkey to the scale of infinity monkeys and we can say categorically its not going to happen, Woodcock tellsNew Scientists James Woodford. If every atom in the universe was a universe in itself, it still wouldnt happen.Even when the researchers played with the variablessuch as by increasing the number of chimps, or boosting their typing speedthey determined that chimpanzee labor will never be a viable tool for developing written works of anything beyond the trivial, they write in the paper.Though the researchers calculations are sound, other mathematicians questioned the need for such a study in the first place.The theorem certainly didnt need debunking, saysMartin Hairer, a mathematician at Imperial College London who was not involved with the research, toNBC News David Hodari. Its something everyone has known forever. The universe could die and be reborn millions and millions of times and it still wouldnt happen.This isnt the first time mathematicians have tried to test the infinite monkey theorem. About two decades ago, researchers in Englandgave a computer to six Sulawesi crested macaques living in captivity at a zoo. After nearly two months, the animals produced just five pages of textand they had mostly typed the letter s.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Arts, Literature, Mathematics, Monkeys, New Research, universe, William Shakespeare