LargestNumberOfZerosICouldCount.py

'''
LARGEST NUMBER OF ZEROS I COULD COUNT
Jeff Thompson | 2018 | jeffreythompson.org

After a breakfast conversation with Angeles, this script calculates
a number with so many zeros you couldn't count them in your lifetime.

RESULTS
8 hrs/day:  1 with 300,318,091 zeros
24 hrs/day: 1 with 876,854,657 zeros

METHODOLOGY
Calculated how long it would take to speak each digit:
- ran many iterations counting from 0-9, timing them
- took an average of 2.9 seconds, or about 0.29 seconds per digit
- there should be an even distribution of all digits in all the numbers

Found average life expectancy:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy
- average life expectancy worldwide is 71.5 years...
- ...or 626,769 hours, or 37,606,140 minutes, or 2,256,368,400 seconds

Alternatively, if only counting 8 hours per day:
- 71.5 years = 26,115.4 days
- 26,115.4 days * 8 hours = 208,923.2 hours in lifetime
- 208,923.2 hours = 751,608,000 seconds
- (or a third of the total seconds above)

'''

sec_per_digit = 0.29
life_expectancy_sec = 2256368400
life_expectancy_sec_eight_hrs = 751608000


# convert seconds into years
def sec_to_year(sec):
	sec /= 60.0						# min
	sec /= 60.0 					# hour
	sec /= 24.0						# day
	sec /= 365.0 					# year
	return '{0:.2f}'.format(sec)	# nice output, pls


# open output file, write header
f = open('years.csv', 'w')
f.write('years,number_reached')


# other vars for calculating
num = 0
num_eight_hrs = 0
time_eight_hrs = 0
total_time = 0
prev_pct = 0
eight_hours_done = False


# do it
print 'running...'
while True:

	# how far along are we?
	pct = (total_time / life_expectancy_sec) * 100.0
	if pct > prev_pct + 1:
		print '- ' + str(int(pct)) + '%\t(' + sec_to_year(total_time) + ' years)\t' + '{:,}'.format(num)
		f.write('\n' + sec_to_year(total_time) + ',' + str(num))
		prev_pct = pct

	# update time
	secs = len(str(num)) * sec_per_digit
	total_time += secs

	# reached 8-hour mark?
	if not eight_hours_done and total_time >= life_expectancy_sec_eight_hrs:
		num_eight_hrs = num
		time_eight_hrs = total_time
		eight_hours_done = True
	
	# all done?
	if total_time >= life_expectancy_sec:
		break

	# update the number we're at
	num += 1


# done, close the file
f.close()


# how did we do?
print ''
print '8 HOURS A DAY:'
print 'number reached:       ' + str(num_eight_hrs)
print 'time to speak digits: ' + '{:,}'.format(time_eight_hrs) + ' sec'
print ''
print '24 HOURS A DAY:'
print 'number reached:       ' + str(num)
print 'time to speak digits: ' + '{:,}'.format(total_time) + ' sec'
print ''