Computer scientist and blogger Randy Olson is experience for using his data tinker acquirement to answer big motion like , " What ’s the quick way tofind Waldo ? " And , " How many European landmark could I impose if I drove for two weeks square ? "
The answer to that last one is 45 , at least according to theoptimized route tripper mapOlson put out in March . Usingspecial algorithmsandGoogle Maps , he was able to bet a itinerary that would that would take him through each blockage with as little backtracking as possible . The route append up to 16,287 miles ( 26,211 km ) and a full drive sentence of 14 day .
When deciding which destinations to let in on the trip , Olson front toBusiness Insider ’s leaning of“50 Places in Europe You Need to Visit in Your Lifetime . ”It hits most of the major monuments ( Stonehenge , the Sistine Chapel ) as well as some under - the - radar spots ( an amusement park in Copenhagen , an“Ice Bar”in Sweden ) . Only 45 of the 50 listed made the swing , because a smattering of them were impossible to access by car .
Finding optimal routes may seem unproblematic in today ’s age of Google Maps and GPS , but once the number of stops achieve the double digits things get progressively hard . Olson laid it out for us on his web log :
favorable for us , he has some ready to hand data shortcuts up his sleeve . Genetic algorithms made it simpler to follow up with bully ( if not the absolutebest ) routes . It ’s the same trick he used when envision hisWhere ’s Waldo?data and when calculating a premature map he made forthe ultimate road stumble across the U.S.
Though his European trip totals a mere two weeks , that ’s not include breaks for catch some Z’s , eating , or stepping out of the machine to enjoy the places you ’re visiting . He recommends set up at least 3 month by to fully take in the sights . Now if only someone could make a companion map of 45 hostel to quell at .
[ h / t : Randal S. Olson ]
