How many plays did Shakespeare write? This question came up in my mind just minutes after I made my (at the time spur-of-the-moment) resolution over the New Year.
The question went to scheduling. If I were going to read all of them in one year, I needed to set a pace where I could finish. So I did the thing I usually do. I simply pulled a number from off the top of my head.
How many? I thought. I think he wrote 54 or so, I though to myself (don't laugh). Thinking I couldn't be too far off, I did a quick calculation and figured I had to read a new play every six days or so. So being too lazy to check, I went with this pace. By January 10, I was proud that I had kept pace and was on my second play.
Then finally I thought---you know I better check the number, and lo and behold ten seconds worth of efforts tells me the answer. He wrote at least 37.
37? What a delicious prime number. How could I ever have forgotten that?
Right away, I redo my calculations and realize I have ten days for each play, not six. Now all of a sudden the schedule for finishing in a year seemed a lot easier.
Of course, what did I do after that? I slacked of course, and got behind schedule, which wasn't too bad until I got sick and now I'm really behind schedule, only starting play number four, when I should be well into number five.
Well, I'll catch up. Work should taper off here in the next week and let me get back on track. One can read a play in a day, after all. I have no excuses.
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