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Related: Culture Forums, Support Forumsgoogle doodle for today honours 30th anniversary of Pi Day (and einstein's birthday!!)
Today Is the 30th Anniversary of Pi Day. Here's What You Should Know About the Irrational Number
March 14, 2018, is Pi Day thats pi, not pie and on Wednesday, Google marks the 30th anniversary of the math-inspired holiday with a special Doodle. Pi, denoted by the Greek letter π, has been part of human knowledge for millennia, but it wasnt until 1988 that physicist Larry Shaw organized what is now recognized as the first Pi Day celebration at the San Francisco Exploratorium science museum. Shaw chose March 14, or 3.14 the first three digits of pi as Pi Day. Shaw died last year, but Pi Day is still celebrated by lovers of mathematics around the world.
As we celebrate again in 2018, here are some Pi Day facts you should know.
What Is Pi?
Pi represents the ratio of a circles circumference to its diameter. Its an important part of the foundation of mathematics, most importantly geometry, where pi is key to equations calculating the area of a circle, A = πr2, and the volume of a cylinder, V = πr2h.
The History of Pi
Various ancient civilizations calculated approximations of pi, including the Egyptians, Babylonians, and theres even a reference to the dimensions of a circle in the Bible, but the first calculation of pi as 3.14 is attributed to Greek mathematician Archimedes, who lived in the third century B.C.. It was also independently determined by Chinese mathematician Zu Chongzhi (429501), who computed pi to six decimal places. Mathematicians adopted the symbol π for the expression in the 18th century: Welsh mathematics teacher William Jones is often credited with the first use of the symbol in 1706.
How Many Numbers Are in Pi?
Pi is a mathematical constant, meaning it isnt changed by the size of the numbers its used to equate, and it is irrational, meaning it has an infinite number of digits that never repeat. The rise of computing technology has led to an arms race of sorts to calculate ever more digits of pi: the current record was set last year by Christian physicist Peter Trueb, calculated pi to 22.4 trillion digits 22,459,157,718,361, to be exact outpacing the previous record set in 2013 by 9 million digits.
How Is Pie Day Celebrated?
Pi Day was officially recognized by Congress in 2009, and its inspired quirky and pun-filled celebrations, including eating circular treats, from fruit pies to pizza, as well as dressing like Albert Einstein, whose birthday serendipitously falls on the math-imbued day. San Franciscos Exploratorium also hosts an annual day of pi-inspired activities. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology releases its undergraduate admissions decisions on Pi Day, and starting in 2012, it began sending the verdicts at 6:28 pm, or Tau time, for the mathematical equation 2π. This year, NASA is inviting math whizzes to compete in its Pi in the Sky challenge to solve a series of interplanetary math problems.
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http://time.com/5198663/30th-anniversary-of-pi-day-2018-facts/
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google doodle for today honours 30th anniversary of Pi Day (and einstein's birthday!!) (Original Post)
niyad
Mar 2018
OP
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)1. Can someone please translate it for me?
Thanks!
niyad
(113,284 posts)2. one of our math geniuses should be along to help soon!!
rurallib
(62,411 posts)3. pi r good
Noodle times cereal divided by cracker pirouettes (equals) half pie noodle halved plum. Must be a recipe for plum pie with a crushed cracker crust?