Summer time means boredom!
Boredom means Python!
I have always been interesting in the shapes of words when laid out on a page. For example, have you ever looked at a paragraph and noticed the little lines of whitespace running vertically? Some of them go for 20 lines or more, and I find it interesting.
As a first task I decided to look at the ascending and descending word length patterns in the dictionary. I wrote a Python script/program to search the dictionary list for key patterns.
Here listed are my results. I used my Mac's built in dictionary at /usr/share/dict/words for the analysis.
Other dictionaries will give different results. This one has 234,936 entries.
Loosely means that the length can stay the same, whereas strictly means that the words have to increment/decrement each time.
Loosely incrementing run:
mandelic mandible mandibula mandibular mandibulary Mandibulata mandibulate mandibulated mandibuliform mandibulohyoid mandibulomaxillary mandibulopharyngeal mandibulosuspensorial
Strictly incrementing run:
ar ara Arab araba araban arabana Arabella arabesque arabesquely arabesquerie
Incrementing by at least 2:
disadorn disadvance disadvantage disadvantageous disadvantageously disadvantageousness
Loosely decrementing run:
dyspeptically dysphagia dysphagic dysphasia dysphasic dysphemia dysphonia dysphonic dysphoria dysphoric dysphotic
Strictly decrementing run:
primordialism primordially primordiate primordium primosity primost primp
Decrementing by at least 2:
acyloxymethane acyrological acyrology acystia ad
There are plenty of other statistics to run, but these ones were easy to implement, and had some interesting results. More to come (if I feel like it)!