[runT1ME]

> controlling how things are executed/computed.

No...see...you understand a monad. That is not the same thing as groking "Monads" in the abstract sense.

For instance, I don't think the State monad really has anything to do with how things are 'executed/computed'

[dkersten]

Sure it does - you execute code in the context of a monad. In the case of the State monad, your code executes in the context of a stateful environment.