There is an infinite number of monkeys. An infinite number of them will type K over and over. An infinite number will type some other letter over and over. However, another infinite group won’t do that. The concept of infinity means that every combination of letters possible will eventually be produced, including every manuscript that has ever been produced by humans.
You have to get your mind around the concept that an infinite series of possibilities means that every conceivable combination is not only likely but inevitable. That’s the key – infinity makes the possible, even the highly improbable, inevitable.
My guess is that Gervais has made him repeat some of his stories and outrageous statements so much that it has taken on a feeling of being rehearsed. But I do think he really is offering sincere idiocy.
I think that he’s really like that. People who have worked with Gervais have not been shy in saying that his habit of laughing maniacally at every little thing quickly starts to get irritating.
I’ve only seen the animated HBO stuff but I think Karl is a deranged genius. Some of the things he says sound like he has put some thought into it and has an odd-ball (read “out of the box”) point of view but Gervais is off with his crazed laughter before Karl can explain. Not to say Karl’s point of view is worldly or wise.
Karl is the guy who always gets cut off by the know-it-all who seizes on a statement before it is complete so he can show how smart he is. This aspect of the show is slightly off-putting to me, except that it’s hilarious. Merchent makes it work, I think, with his flat delivery.
I don’t see him as being the victim here, because he’s exactly the same way. He’s bullheaded in his wrongheadedness and if given the chance, blusters forth with some truly spectacular horseshit.
Yes, he’s really like that. Watch any clip that is a “behind the scenes” where he and Merchant are sitting at their desks brainstorming or being interviewed and Gervais is always howling with laughter about something.
Despite the name of the podcast, I think Ricky is the least important member of the trio. There was a preview of the audiobooks with just him and Karl, and it was just the two of them arguing at cross purposes for five minutes. Stephen, at least, tries to work out what Karl is saying, rather than just laughing like a kookaburra and calling him an idiot.
What if the monkeys’ style i to first type something with one hand, and then something with the other hand. Then we won’t have two characters in a row from the same edge of the keyboard.
Undoubtedly an infinite number of monkeys will do as you describe. However, an infinite number of monkeys won’t. Because the number is infinite, all possible outcomes will occur.
Isn’t the paradox that you will actually get an infinite number of every permutation? So somehow you’ll randomly end up with an infinite number of exact copies of the New Testament where the messiah is named Bubba.