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LiveScience
LiveScience
Marilyn Perkins

Could monkeys really type the complete works of Shakespeare?

An illustration of many colorful monkeys typing on typewriters.

Given an infinite amount of time, an infinite number of monkeys randomly prodding keys on a typewriter could, in theory, eventually replicate the works of William Shakespeare. At least, that's what a thought experiment called the infinite monkey theorem states.

The infinite monkey theorem was first proposed by mathematician Émile Borel in 1913, and it's been a popular way to understand randomness and probability for decades. But could a monkey really type out Shakespeare?

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