Author Topic: Eddington Cycle Number  (Read 3333 times)

Eddington Cycle Number
« on: 10 June, 2010, 11:42:50 am »
I was aware of Eddington and his associations and achievements, but not this (its near the bottom of the info) pointed out to me by a friend:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Stanley_Eddington

I haven't calculated the number for myself yet.....but can feel another nerdy stat related obsession coming on  :thumbsup:
 

Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #1 on: 10 June, 2010, 11:55:52 am »
It came up before in another thread:-

What's your number?
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #2 on: 10 June, 2010, 11:56:01 am »
We've discussed this before, but it does no harrm to revisit, especially since that was in a thread about something slightly different.

EDIT: Sorry, crosspost.
Getting there...

Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #3 on: 10 June, 2010, 12:03:28 pm »
Apologies.......  :-\

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #4 on: 10 June, 2010, 12:12:49 pm »
No need for apologies.  As I said, worth discussing again.
Getting there...

Oaky

  • ACME Fire Safety Officer
  • Audax Club Mid-Essex
    • MEMWNS Map
Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #5 on: 10 June, 2010, 01:44:26 pm »
A quick squint at my stats suggests ~33 at the moment, but it's clouded by my having grouped together rides in the table I have to hand at the moment (e.g. all yacf MEMWNS are counted together).

Since all my stats are in a SQLite db, I feel a bit of SQL/Tcl scripting coming on tonight - if I get time (hmm... I might even try to do a graph of Eddington number vs. time -- I remember when I was first told about it wondering if I'd ever get to 16).

EDIT: just checked properly and it's 37
You are in a maze of twisty flat droves, all alike.

85.4 miles from Marsh Gibbon

Audax Club Mid-Essex Fire Safety Officer
http://acme.bike

Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #6 on: 10 June, 2010, 01:46:51 pm »
As a great fan of the Eddington Number in my Excel spreadsheet (my number this year is 21 at the moment - thats 21 rides of 21km or more - pathetic I know  :-[   ) I wonder if anyone can figure a way of getting Excel to automatically calculate the Eddington number (Lets say the mileage / kilometrage is in column A then calculate the Eddington number for that ride in column B). I can't see how it can be done except by the use of scary Visual Basic  :facepalm:
Too many angry people - breathe & relax.

Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #7 on: 10 June, 2010, 01:50:46 pm »
Not sure how to automate it but you just sort rides by descending distance and go down the list until you get to the last entry where distance > row number (assuming no header row) and the row number is your E number.

Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #8 on: 10 June, 2010, 01:53:10 pm »
As a great fan of the Eddington Number in my Excel spreadsheet (my number this year is 21 at the moment - thats 21 rides of 21km or more - pathetic I know  :-[   ) I wonder if anyone can figure a way of getting Excel to automatically calculate the Eddington number (Lets say the mileage / kilometrage is in column A then calculate the Eddington number for that ride in column B). I can't see how it can be done except by the use of scary Visual Basic  :facepalm:

Sort ride length data descending into another column (I'll use Z).
Then look down the column (assuming it starts from row 1, i.e. the first cell is Z1) until you find row n where the contents of Zn is less then n.
The answer is then n-1.

Z1: 10
Z2: 9
Z3: 8
Z4: 7
Z5: 6
Z6: 5
Z7: 4

So the answer is 5 since 5 > contents(Z5), but 6 < contents(Z6).

I'm sure it must be possible with a macro and VLOOKUP somehow.
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #9 on: 10 June, 2010, 01:55:29 pm »
My lifetime Imperial Eddington is 60.  But recent, it's much lower.  In recent times, I've done a great many days of 37.7km (far more than 37.7 of them ;D), but not so many of further than that.  I may have managed 40x40km.  

If we're in miles, the picture is bleaker, because we'd be talking about 24 miles.  I'm pretty sure I've done 24 of them, but that's a bit poor. :-[
Getting there...

Jaded

  • The Codfather
  • Formerly known as Jaded
Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #10 on: 10 June, 2010, 02:00:54 pm »
My lifetime Imperial Eddington is 60.

Mine is 51, but I've only been riding in the last four years. There were longer rides in long past times, but they were measured by a piece of cotton on a 1in to 1 mile OS map.
It is simpler than it looks.

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #11 on: 10 June, 2010, 02:02:55 pm »
Yes, I'm including those.  I used to do 60 miles once a week, 100 miles once a month, and 150 miles, well, that was supposed to be quarterly, but I only ever did one :-[
Getting there...

Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #12 on: 10 June, 2010, 02:20:35 pm »
2009: 44. 2010: 35. Bit rubbish really, as we're on day 161.
Edit: Those are miles, btw, I had to convert. Km are harder to achieve, aren't they?

Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #13 on: 10 June, 2010, 02:43:30 pm »
Not sure of all this talk of annual E numbers - didn't Eddington define it as a lifetime thing?

Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #14 on: 10 June, 2010, 03:10:32 pm »
Not sure of all this talk of annual E numbers - didn't Eddington define it as a lifetime thing?

Yes he did, and he did it im miles.
Me? I'm my own man, and do it annually and in kilometres!
(My records are incomplete before 1991, and since then I've only ever recorded my distances in logical units)
Too many angry people - breathe & relax.

Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #15 on: 10 June, 2010, 03:25:11 pm »
Not sure of all this talk of annual E numbers - didn't Eddington define it as a lifetime thing?

Yes, but some people just have to embrace and extend.

Given the riding I do I can see my Eddington number hitting somewhere between 124 and 130 in 5 years or so, at that point I can stop thinking about it as it's very very unlikely to increase from there.
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

Oaky

  • ACME Fire Safety Officer
  • Audax Club Mid-Essex
    • MEMWNS Map
Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #16 on: 10 June, 2010, 03:59:56 pm »
Not sure of all this talk of annual E numbers - didn't Eddington define it as a lifetime thing?

Yes, but some people just have to embrace and extend.

Given the riding I do I can see my Eddington number hitting somewhere between 124 and 130 in 5 years or so, at that point I can stop thinking about it as it's very very unlikely to increase from there.

Unless you give up 200s now before it's too late!
You are in a maze of twisty flat droves, all alike.

85.4 miles from Marsh Gibbon

Audax Club Mid-Essex Fire Safety Officer
http://acme.bike

Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #17 on: 10 June, 2010, 04:35:29 pm »
Given the riding I do I can see my Eddington number hitting somewhere between 124 and 130 in 5 years or so, at that point I can stop thinking about it as it's very very unlikely to increase from there.

That's the point it just gets harder and harder - starting fresh every year is just cheating  ;)

Mine's 63, only another two 64+'s to get to 64 but ten 65+'s for 65 - mainly because 60 odd is the typical club run distance.

Me? I'm my own man, and do it annually and in kilometres!
(My records are incomplete before 1991, and since then I've only ever recorded my distances in logical units)

You can't bastardise it and still call it an Eddington number, if you want your own definition & units you'll need to call it your "Millimole Number" or something - how about doing the number of years in which you've done X rides of X distance? I can't see a scientist like Eddington having any sympathy with incomplete logs, if your rides are unrecorded they can't count.

Re: Eddington Cycle Number
« Reply #18 on: 10 June, 2010, 08:40:48 pm »

Quote
You can't bastardise it and still call it an Eddington number, if you want your own definition & units you'll need to call it your "Millimole Number" or something - how about doing the number of years in which you've done X rides of X distance? I can't see a scientist like Eddington having any sympathy with incomplete logs, if your rides are unrecorded they can't count.

Millimole Number - I like it!  Although to say I've cycled 25mmol this year might make some of my fellow Chartered Scientists think I had actually lost it big time,this time   :o
Too many angry people - breathe & relax.