Morphic resonance attempts to provide an explanation to the '
100th Monkey Phenomenon'. ie, the aparent ability for thought to travel instantaneously among a population once a critical number of thinkers has been reached.
Aside from the anecdote of the
100 Macau Monkeys and the Sweet Potato, the observational data supporting morphic resonance includes the simultaneous change in behaviour of the
blue tits in England in 1952. At the time, milk bottles with foil lids had been in use for few years. Suddenly the entire population of blue tits discovered that they could tap through the foil and drink the milk.
The explanation offered by morphic resonance is that the
brain waves of individuals with an idea are capable of resonating in the same way that two vibrating strings resonate (see
resonance for a good explanation of the principle). Although the wave created by a single brain may be too weak for another brain to receive an
idea spontaneously, many brains emiting
electromagnetic vibrations at the same
frequency may be picked up by another brain looking for a solution to the same problem.