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June 09, 2005
Monkey business
The New York Times reports the research of Yale "behavioural economist" Keith Chen into the economic behaviour of capuchin monkeys that "will either surprise you very much or not at all, depending on your view of humans" (for which link you may blame the Neighbour of the Flea). In evidence: gambling, theft and, of course, prostitution.
Something else happened during that chaotic scene, something that convinced Chen of the monkeys' true grasp of money. Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of money, after all, is its fungibility, the fact that it can be used to buy not just food but anything. During the chaos in the monkey cage, Chen saw something out of the corner of his eye that he would later try to play down but in his heart of hearts he knew to be true. What he witnessed was probably the first observed exchange of money for sex in the history of monkeykind. (Further proof that the monkeys truly understood money: the monkey who was paid for sex immediately traded the token in for a grape.)
Posted by Ghost of a flea at June 9, 2005 06:41 AM
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