I usually don't write about these kinds of things but it has got me thinking - mostly about the amount of change and the availability of information (good or bad) we are all experiencing. With a click this app tells me:
- There are 156,908 people in the U.S. with the first name Gordon.
- Statistically the 383rd most popular first name.
- More than 99.9 percent of people with the first name Gordon are male.
- There are 165,960 people in the U.S. with the last name Snyder.
- Statistically Snyder is the 171st most popular last name.
I don't have any idea how accurate this information is but the site claims "all numbers estimated are based upon statistical and demographic data from US Census Bureau". I wonder how many faculty would accept this kind of reference in student report or presentation? I'm not sure I would but how could I argue without doing time consuming research and even then what could I find?
I poked around for 10 minutes on the web and it looks like the Census Bureau has a list of frequently occurring last names from 1990. I think I could probably find more if I continued my search.
So does that mean I don't exist? I have to admit, over the years I've had my doubts :) - in fact, am I really typing this right now or just dreaming about typing?
ReplyDelete