As I was walking the other day I passed by two gentlemen that were having a conversation.  All I caught of their conversation was one of the men saying:  “Anyone can train a monkey to push a button.”  That’s it, that’s all I heard, no context, no response from the other gentleman, just that little tidbit.  As I continued walking, leaving the two to whatever it was they were discussing, I kept thinking about what the guy had said:  “Anyone can train a monkey to push a button.” It’s an expression that’s been heard before, nothing ground breaking or revolutionary, but I kept thinking about it.

Sure, anyone probably could train a monkey to push a button, but is it really that simple, that easy?  There has to be more to it.

First of all, if pushing the button serves a purpose, such as the monkey performing a specific job that requires the button to be pushed, it’s pushing is related to a cause/effect situation.  Let’s say that the purpose of the button being pushed is to open a particular vent to air out a specific area, but this is not just a random purpose because there are definite times when the button needs to be pushed.  So for us to get the monkey to know when to push the button, we need to train the monkey to respond to a particular stimuli that it recognizes as indicating that the button NEEDS to be pushed (i.e. “When the green light comes on, push the button.”); I’m sure a monkey could handle that kind of training (any animal behavioural scientists out there please correct me if I am wrong).

Would that be all there is to it though? I don’t think so. What if our monkey gets distracted easily? What if he chooses to not push the button? It is here where I feel the importance of consequence or reward comes in; the monkey needs to be trained either through reprisal for not pushing the green button when the green light comes on, or reward for pushing the green button only when the green light comes on. Either way, the monkey needs to recognize the importance of fulfilling the task to its specifics, anything else is not acceptable.

And that is that, I never really went much farther in my thought process regarding this matter. Nothing groundbreaking, nothing revolutionary, but I do think there is more to training a monkey to push a button than there seems to be.

Just thinking out loud again.

There are so many css design gallery websites showcasing what is considered beautiful design and as a web designer all of these sites are great things to have. They are wonderful for inspiration purposes, for learning, and just for plain old admiration of a fellow designers skillset and vision. They are wonderful resources and I find myself going back to them time and time again.

The other day as I was going over one of these sites it got me thinking (I know I know, dangerous territory that thinking stuff), I have submitted to a few of them here and there but have yet to have any of my work showcased. The rejection comes hard at first, but as soon as I punch my ego in the throat and push it out the window I am able to deal with it in a more effective and pleasant manner. A reaction based on ego would be “oh my god, those jerks, why won’t they showcase my work, is it that bad, I thought it was good, would I have clients if my stuff wasn’t good, just because mine doesn’t look like everybody else’s should I be penalized and ostracized like that, this is horrible, maybe I shouldn’t be a web designer, what am I going to do, those jerks, geez” and so on and so on. Ego is wonderful isn’t it? Yikes.

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craigslist

While checking my email this morning I came across a news article that explained that someone had gone onto craigslist.org, placed a classified indicating that he had to quickly leave the country and that all of the stuff on his property was up for grabs; whoever wants it could go and get it. The classified went off like gang busters and everyone was out taking what they could, the only problem is that the classified wasn’t put out by the owner of the property. It was a hoax, and the true owner had no idea until he was coming home and seeing people driving down the road with his property, and then seeing even more people actually on his property taking stuff. Sounds too crazy to be true, eh?

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Although this entry is about the movie “Gridiron Gang” I will be spending more time addressing the theme of the movie rather than reviewing the movie itself.

Simply put, the movie is much like any other sports themed film: A group overcome adversity to achieve their ultimate goal of becoming a team, united, strong, and determined. Hard times always arise, set backs occur, but in the end all is well. If you are into these types of films then give this one a perusal.

That’s it for my review, what I really want to do now is discuss a particular theme found in this movie: Purpose. Gridiron Gang never really directly alludes to this concept, it focuses more on the kids being “losers” in their crime filled lives. What the football team gives these kids is the opportunity to become winners. And that is about the depth that this concept is explored. What I would like to point out is that there is way more to this concept, or theme, than just ‘being a loser looking to be a winner’. What the football team truly gave these kids was an ultimate sense of Purpose.

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