The story goes like this:
Off the coast of Japan lie several tiny islands whose population of Macaques monkeys were under continuous scientific observation for over twenty years. Daily, the participating scientists would strategically place potatoes on a beach in order to entice the monkeys out of the jungle and into the open for observation.
One day, one of these monkeys on an island learned to wash those potatoes, and gradually, this new behavior was spread through the colony of monkeys on the island - in the usual fashion, through observation and repetition. However, the scientists observed that once a critical number of monkeys was reached—the so-called 'hundredth monkey'—this previously learned behaviour spontaneously and instantly spread across the water to all the monkeys on nearby islands.
This is called the Hundredth Monkey Effect.
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Collective Unconscious is a term originally coined by Carl Jung. It is also known as "a reservoir of the experiences of our species", or the "racial memory".
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So how do the above concepts apply to assignments?
At the beginning, when an assigment is given to the students, nobody knows how to do it. As time goes by, more and more students will attempt the assignment, do research, and try to figure out the answers. By the time when it is jus one or two days before the due date, most of the students will have done the assignments and know the answer.
This is where the Collective Unconscious and YOU come in!
Once the number of students who know the answer pass a critical threshold, their knowledge, which is stored in the Collective Unconscious, will be significant enough to be tap by YOU! By then, you can do your assignment easily and effortlessly since you are accessing the answers in the Collective Unconcious of all the students who have done the assignment. The feeling will be something like:
*Ding!* (Light bulb come out from the head) "Eh? How come I suddenly know the answer??"
*Ding!* (Light bulb come out from the head) "Eh? How come I suddenly know the answer??"
If anyone has any doubt about what I said, ponder about this:
If monkeys can do it, why can't you?
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I have been relying on this concept for the past 3+ years in NTU. Since I still survive, I guess it works to a certain extent. It has been one of my closely-guarded secrets of surviving in NTU and I disclose it only because I am graduating soon. To juniors reading my blog, you can make good use of it. =)
However, please take note, there are risks of using this method:
If everyone do their assignment the last minute, then YOU. ARE. DEAD. Hmmm... Actually not quite la. If everyone is as dead as you, then you are still ok. Haha!
Another thing to note is that if the number of people doing the assignment is small, ie. not many student taking the same module as you, the effect may not be that obvious.
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I have one assignment due next next monday, another on next next thursday, and I don't have a single clue on how to do them. I am still waiting for that sudden flash of inspiration from the Collective Unconcious. God, please make that hundredth monkey faster do his assignment!!!
(Or let everyone be as dead as me.)
HELP!!!
