Today (Tue 14th Mar, 2017) is...
Pi, wonderful pi. It plays into so many aspects of our lives and goes on forever and ever and ever and ever and eve… You get the point. Every year there comes a certain day that shares numerical values with Pi, and on that day there is a celebration of Pi with every kind of Pie you can imagine. You see, pies are round, and Pi is circumference over diameter, a number that, while being functionally infinite, also happens to be a constant in every circle ever. Pi day celebrates the long history of this fantastic number, and the long journey science has taken (and is still on) to seek the end of a number known to be infinite in length.
History of Pi Day
The history of pi day is, without a doubt, intrinsically tied to the origins of the number itself. The need for pi is as old as the wheel itself, and many techniques have been tried in many cultures to capture this elusive number in mathematics. The reach for the whole of this number was difficult, with ancient mathematical cultures only being able to barely find out to the seventh decimal, and Indian mathematicians (some of the greatest of their time) could only manage to decipher it out to five.
Pi is truly one of the most fascinating numbers in existence, and the quest for the ultimate end of Pi has been sought for time out of mind. This seems a fool’s errand, given that it seems to extend infinitely in mathematical loops beyond and nothing has ever been found to contest this, this is particularly remarkable when you consider the following: modern techniques have been used to calculate pi out to millions of digits, and at no point has the pattern ever been found to reliably repeat itself.
The history of pi day is, without a doubt, intrinsically tied to the origins of the number itself. The need for pi is as old as the wheel itself, and many techniques have been tried in many cultures to capture this elusive number in mathematics. The reach for the whole of this number was difficult, with ancient mathematical cultures only being able to barely find out to the seventh decimal, and Indian mathematicians (some of the greatest of their time) could only manage to decipher it out to five.
Pi is truly one of the most fascinating numbers in existence, and the quest for the ultimate end of Pi has been sought for time out of mind. This seems a fool’s errand, given that it seems to extend infinitely in mathematical loops beyond and nothing has ever been found to contest this, this is particularly remarkable when you consider the following: modern techniques have been used to calculate pi out to millions of digits, and at no point has the pattern ever been found to reliably repeat itself.
Ahhh an easier and more delicious question has never been posited! How do we celebrate Pi day? Why, by eating a great deal of Pie! Remember, Pies are circles, Pi describes circles, and through that we find that everything in the universe can be described with a pi(e). Other ways to celebrate this most amazing and transcendental of days (Pi is a transcendental number, look it up) is to research this number and discover all the amazing secrets it hides. Once you really get to understand the depths and complexities of it, you’ll understand why Pi day exists to celebrate a simple combination of digits.
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