Happy Pi Day everybody!
When I say Pi, I am, of course, referring to the date,
which, if written like a decimal and ignoring the first two digits of the year
reads like this: 3.1415.
This is an approximation of π, pronounced Pi, which is the
Greek letter used to stand for the irrational number you get if you divide the circumference
of a circle by its diameter – supposing your circle is very round and your
instruments are very good.
This year, Pi-loving geeks are going all-out to celebrate
this Pi Day of the Century. Because, at 9:26:53 in the morning – whenever that
was or will be where you are – it can be read as 3.141592653, which is Pi to
nine decimal places. Yep, you get a whole second to celebrate. Well, I guess
two seconds, if you celebrate in the AM and PM. I suppose you can celebrate the
PM as well. I certainly won’t tell. After all, it’s a Saturday night!
Here in most of North America and elsewhere, we just lost an
hour to Daylight Saving Time. In a sense, we are celebrating the Pi Second an
hour early. Does that mean our Pi will be underdone? Not to mention the whole time zone question.
Pi is a big deal. Books have been written about it. People
have memorized it to hundreds or thousands of digits. There is a great Youtube
video, available here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r3cEKZiLmg&feature=youtu.be,
showing pi printed out to one million digits. The length of the paper is more
than a mile long. They unrolled the paper on an airport runway. That video has
had more than a million views. Here is a video showing how that video was made,
which contains additional facts about Pi. That making-of video is available
here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99Welatppzk.
My good friend Steve Buchanan informs me that there is a
movement afoot to take some of the importance off of π, a circle’s circumference
divided by its diameter, and celebrating the irrational number beginning 6.28305…
which represents the circumfrance of a circle divided by the circle’s radius. See
the Youtube videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hhjsSN-AiU.
Also, see “Pi is Wrong” at:
This movement give that number, equal to 2π, the name of the
Greek letter Tau – τ. There are a lot of reasons for putting emphasis on Tau
rather than Pi, among them is the fact that many commonly used formulas use the
radius of a circle, rather than the diameter.
So, will we celebrate Tau Day on 6/18 (June 18)? Why not?
Have you had your π Today? Maybe τ should wait for a few
months and enjoy twice as much.
However, Pi has historical relevance, and I don't think it will be unseated from its place of importance in the minds of mathematicians and nonmathematicians anytime soon.
For the reason stated above today is Pi day of the century. Or is it?
I would like to point out that next year's Pi day can be read 3.1416. That is as far as most people who use the number in calculations bother to travel right of the decimal point. Next year we can have the Pi day of the century -- not just for a second (or two seconds twelve hours apart) but all day!
Think about it. You have an entire year!
However, Pi has historical relevance, and I don't think it will be unseated from its place of importance in the minds of mathematicians and nonmathematicians anytime soon.
For the reason stated above today is Pi day of the century. Or is it?
I would like to point out that next year's Pi day can be read 3.1416. That is as far as most people who use the number in calculations bother to travel right of the decimal point. Next year we can have the Pi day of the century -- not just for a second (or two seconds twelve hours apart) but all day!
Think about it. You have an entire year!
