[cortesoft]

Except for most cases, this is the proper behavior. We share experience with each other, and we can learn from it even if we haven't personally experienced it, or even if the person telling us about it didn't experience it personally.

The anecdote says they don't approach the stair because that's the way it has always been, but the monkey might say, "we don't approach the stair because the last monkey in here told us that we would be sprayed with water if we did"

Learning from people who are no longer here is really important. Just because something hasn't happened in your lifetime doesn't mean it won't happen. There are so many stories from Japan after the Tsunami, about places that learned from their ancestors to stay safe from something they themselves had never experienced.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2018/03/11/how-cen...

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/43018489/ns/world_news-asia_pacifi...