I've been seeing how many steps it takes to get up the escalator in the PATH station where I work. Thursday (out of rush hour), I took 88 steps to get the top - full pelt. This morning, I took 92 steps (off-peak), indicating that I was running faster. This evening, I took 91 steps running down the escalator. I could've sworn I ran faster than this morning, but alas not, unless the downward escalator is faster - which could be the case given that it doesn't have the trauma of increasing people's potential energy.
There is a conundrum going on in the office at the moment, which has me interested: with unlimited people-resources, how would you go about solving a jigsaw puzzle given a significant time constraint, say a day.
Some of the techies among us have decided that it's best to scan the shape of each of the pieces and use some form of algorithm to put the puzzle together. My preference is to think of this as a project management challenge as opposed to one of technology.
Although it never seemed to make sense to me as a child, having an early step to identify the straight-edged pieces and define the border strikes me as a sound early move. The technique thereafter depends largely on the answer to a specific question: can the picture be broken down logically by colour.
If the answer is yes, then it makes sense to divide the pieces up and assign one team to each of the distinguishable areas. It would then be relatively simple for teams to share pieces which they didn't feel belonged to them, and for the groups to regroup towards the end to connect the large sections together within the boundary.
If the answer is no, then this changes the problem significantly. Dividing the team by area seems tough, as unless you can allot the pieces to the right team, you're in trouble. I was wondering whether it would help or hinder to have, say, four identical sets of pieces (all of the same, complete jigsaw). Giving each team a set to work with would be beneficial, as they would not have any dependencies on other tracks. However, the determination of each piece would mean a wider set of pieces to choose from, which would slow down progress.
More to follow on this one, I think.
