Hat tip to Jason for introducing me to the Doomsday algorithm. Or maybe I should be lambasting Jason for my new compulsive disorder.
The Doomsday algorithm, created by the eminent mathematician John Horton Conway, gives you the day of the week for any date. Supposedly you can do it in your head. I’m still using scrap pieces of paper, where I am now able to accurately determine the day of the week for any date in history (past or future) within about 10-15 seconds. I’ve just started trying to use the ‘Hand’ method, but it’s taking me a little longer to get it. By the end of the day I hope to be able to do most dates within 10 seconds in my head.
Anyhow…shortly after learning this fun new algorithm, I read Greg Lindsay’s (at Mediabistro.com) fictional glimpse at the blogoshere in the future.
He presents his piece as a fictional article written in 2048, with the following headline:
REUTERS – Bangalore, Monday January 8, 2048
Had Mr. Lindsay learned the Doomsday algorithm (or just checked a calendar), he would have been able to ascertain within about 10 seconds, that January 8, 2048 falls on a Wednesday (did this one in my head in less than 10 seconds).
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thanks for the nice writeup
if you’re ever in toronto, please get in touch, i’ll show you our lovely frisbee golf course (e.g. see http://rudy.ca/somekindofrecord.html, http://rudy.ca/iceonthe9thhole.html)
[...] *** I admit it: I’m a big numbers geek — math, stats, algorithms, etc. — you name it, I like numbers. Apparantly Jason does to, as I just realized that I also first learned about the Doomsday Algorithm from Jason’s blog. [...]