I write timestamps a lot - even on pen and paper - because knowing exactly when you did something eliminates a large class of problems that tend to emerge later on when searching, sorting, and trying to remember stuff. To this end, I wasn't a fan of the year 2010. It was slow. I'll explain what I mean by that...
When typing the number 2010, you have to traverse the entire length of the number line on the keyboard almost three times. You start at 2, go across 8 places to 0, back 9 places to 1, and back another 9 places to 0, for a total of 26 keys traversed - far higher than 2009's mere 9. Now, in reality, with two hands, it's not really slow to type unless you type using the hunt-and-peck method - but there's a certain miniscule quantum of mental effort expended shifting your semi-subconscious inner focus from key to key.
(Before I go any further, I would like to propose that the standard unit of mental effort be the noo. Typing the year 2010 involves about 1 nanonoo of mental effort. 1 noo is the amount of mental effort it takes to be outside your intellectual comfort zone for 1 second.)
I wrote some Python to generate the following top 10 hardest-to-type four digit years. (Exercise to the reader: do this. If you liked it, check out Project Euler).
| Year | Typing distance |
|---|---|
| 1010 | 27 |
| 1019 | 26 |
| 2010 | 26 |
| 9101 | 26 |
| 1018 | 25 |
| 1020 | 25 |
| 1910 | 25 |
| 2019 | 25 |
| 3010 | 25 |
| 8101 | 25 |
| 9102 | 25 |
So 2010 is joint-second on the list! Not since the birth of the Chinese Emperor Renzong has there been a year harder to type. We have truly lived through a cursed age! It will be the year 10101 before we have to endure anything harder, by which time our pointing wands will have to traverse a gruelling 36 keys.
The pattern thence is obvious: the maximum required traversal distance to type any n-digit number is 9(n-1).
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