Probability: The Only Predictable Thing About New Year Is
We all know that probabilities are never truly certain. This is especially true when it comes to New Year’s resolutions. No matter how much I plan to go to the gym or finally clean my room, life tends to throw in a bit of randomness—kind of like a probability distribution!
The probability that I will stick to any resolution by February 1st is roughly the same as a random coin coming up heads 50 times in a row—very low. But here's the beauty of probability: I can always try again! And maybe, just maybe, this year, I’ll be that rare outlier who actually does everything they set out to do. Or, maybe not. But hey, that’s what makes life fun, right?
Algorithm for New Year's Success: (Not Quite as Efficient as Google’s)
Now, let’s get serious for a second and talk about how to create an algorithm for making 2025 our best year. Here’s a step-by-step process, but no promises on how efficient this will be—after all, who said success needs to be in constant time?
Input: New Year's Resolutions (possibly generated from a list of things we didn’t achieve last year).
Process: Add a random number of “life events” (this might include spending too much time on YouTube or getting distracted by that shiny thing on the internet).
Check for Termination: In February, check if we’re still following our resolutions or if we’ve gone into hibernation mode.
Output: A mixture of minor success and utter chaos, but hey, at least we would have learnt something :-)
Note: We may need to handle exceptions, such as 'midnight snack temptation' or 'a sudden craving for binge-watching a new series'. These are common edge cases that many algorithms are not prepared for.
Wishing everyone a very happy new year! May 2025 bring peace, joy and good health across the world!
Happy new year to you too!