Re: [XPOST] A unique number for every "person" - can it be done?

From: Gianna Stefani (jxeql_at_jwhjdig.jqk)
Date: 03/07/05 

Date: Mon, 07 Mar 2005 14:11:05 +0100

TGOS wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Calculate a number for every human being, company and organization on
> earth, that is guaranteed to be unique till the end of time.

Your thoughts seem unecessarily complex.

>
> Be creative, try to find data useful for the purpose. Things you may
> want to use:
>
> - Date of birth / Year of foundation
> - Place of birth (consider not always known, names can change over time,
> better go for coordinates)
> - Name (First, Last / Name of company/organization)
> - Name of parents (consider orphans / companies)
> - Blood Type (consider companies have no blood type)
> - Gender (consider companies)
> - Eye color (should be constant, consider companies)
>

That would be very limiting. Anyone who changed name, perhaps for
marriage, would need a new number so their original number fails the
test of being their number until the end of time.

> I came up with plenty of ideas, but they were either too complicated or
> creating collisions was too likely, that are not easily resolved.
>
> Simply writing down some data and hashing it creates a decent number,
> but how long will this be collision free? How big must the hash be to be
> secure for thousands of years and 6 billions of people and millions of
> companies/organizations?
>

if the largest number you need is say 7 billion, then simply give
everyone a number between 1 and 1000 000 000 000 000 and the problem is
resolved. Should 'future history' show that the human race lasts longer
  than that, the upper limit is not really a limit and can increase to
any number imaginable.

There is no need for an individual or organisation to compute its number
... it would be in the planetary records office, or tattooed on one's
arm as it was when the idea last came up. 

-- 
Gianna Stefani

Relevant Pages
Quantcast