Today is Pi Day, and the time will be exactly pi at 3/14/15 9:26:53, or a little thereafter. We will not see another Pi Day till 2115, but I am sure that someone next year will point out that pi = 3.1416 within a thousandth of 1 percent or so. Won't be the same, though!
Good article in the Times here. No puns, unfortunately.
stevaroni · 14 March 2015
We're just gonna go around in circles all day aren't we?
Matt Young · 14 March 2015
My grandson Noah Young has pointed out that UberUltimate Pi Day was in the year 1592. The UberUltimate Pi Moment was 3.14.1592 6:53:58.97, two digits more precise than any other year.
Also, my old friend Peter Rice reminded me that today is Einstein's birthday and directed me to this Website, which displays 4 Einstein trivia -- or perhaps 3 trivia and 1 fact. The fact is slightly bungled, but never mind; the blurbs are interesting.
Mike Elzinga · 14 March 2015
The bright kids at the "Nerd Farm" where I taught liked pi day and mol day. As I recall, there was once a hilarious performance of "You'll Get Pi in the Sky When You Die" - sung to the tune of "The Sweet By and By" (which also, by the way, inspired another tune about materialism entitled "The Sweet Buy and Buy." Unfortunately I failed to record the words.
The biology instructor also liked to introduce "I'm My Own Grandpa" during her genetics unit.
I also have this vague recollection that some years ago there were some weird fundamentalists complaining about schools having days in which students worshipped Devil numbers. I don't know if it was some stupid urban legend, but apparently there are some people who just don't get it.
https://me.yahoo.com/a/V.VkPS45yPPSxXmamVuN2XBJ.6kNQy4-#e5fea · 14 March 2015
Glen Davidson:
Measuring time in pi isnât rational.
Kind of like measuring time in parsecs?
Matt Young:
We will not see another Pi Day till 2115
There will be another pi day next year on 3/14, we have one every year, it just won't be accurate to as many places as this year, nor was this year accurate to as many places as it was in 1592 as Matt pointed out in comment 5.
You're just jealous because it takes you so long to make the Kessel run.
Matt Young · 14 March 2015
There will be another pi day next year on 3/14, we have one every year, it just wonât be accurate to as many places as this year, nor was this year accurate to as many places as it was in 1592 as Matt pointed out in comment 5.
Yes, sorry, I misspoke. There will be another 3/14 every year, but none as accurate as this year's for another 100 years. 3/16/14 will be close, however. But we will not see another as accurate as 3.14.1592 6:53:58.97 unless we start a new calendar or -- dare I say it? -- adopt the Islamic calendar.
Paul Burnett · 14 March 2015
Creationists all know that pi = 3.000 - see 1 Kings 7:23:
"And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about."
Henry J · 14 March 2015
But then they ask:
"Lord, what's a cubit?"
AltairIV · 15 March 2015
This seems to be a good time to throw out the obvious question (and do a bit of boasting). How many digits of pi do you know? Has anyone here ever bothered to memorize more than a handful of digits?
I currently have 100 places under my belt. I'm curious to see if anybody here can top it.
Joe Felsenstein · 15 March 2015
Sadly, in much of world Saturday wasn't Pi Day.
While we were celebrating a moment that was 3.141592653289, they were only celebrating 1.432015 (or was it 1.4032015?), which was at least 11 days after Root 2 Day, but nowhere near Pi. In fact, Pi Day will never come in most places. Even in Siracusa, Italy.
TomS · 15 March 2015
Joe Felsenstein said:
Sadly, in much of world Saturday wasn't Pi Day.
While we were celebrating a moment that was 3.141592653289, they were only celebrating 1.432015 (or was it 1.4032015?), which was at least 11 days after Root 2 Day, but nowhere near Pi. In fact, Pi Day will never come in most places. Even in Siracusa, Italy.
Most of the world celebrates the 22nd of July, 22/7, which is better than the plain 3.14 of most years.
ksplawn · 15 March 2015
Why not both? Have 2xPi days per year!
W. H. Heydt · 15 March 2015
Re: AltairIV... One of the items mentioned at the Pi Day activities at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA yesterday was that someone in Germany has memorized Pi out to something over 67,000 places. The most I ever managed was 70 places, but I wuit working on it when the person I was competing with didn't make it past 65 places.
And speaking of the Pi Day goings on... There was also a 3-hour time slot for people to show off various projects made using Raspberry Pi computers. I set up 4 of them (of different models...A+, B, B+ and Pi2B) for people to try out and had a steady stream of kids playing with them.
fnxtr · 15 March 2015
AltairIV said:
This seems to be a good time to throw out the obvious question (and do a bit of boasting). How many digits of pi do you know? Has anyone here ever bothered to memorize more than a handful of digits?
I currently have 100 places under my belt. I'm curious to see if anybody here can top it.
I know all the digits.
I just don't know what order they come in.
Try the veal.
harold · 15 March 2015
AltairIV said:
This seems to be a good time to throw out the obvious question (and do a bit of boasting). How many digits of pi do you know? Has anyone here ever bothered to memorize more than a handful of digits?
I currently have 100 places under my belt. I'm curious to see if anybody here can top it.
Until this week, 3.14 was good enough for me. Thanks to this thread, I will now remember 3.141592 for as long as my brain keeps functioning.
Carl Drews · 16 March 2015
In Europe they can look forward to celebrating an accurate Pi Day on 3 January 4159, or 3/1/4159. By cheating a bit on the format of military time they can wake up after midnight and hold their celebration at 2:6:53.58979
eric · 16 March 2015
AltairIV said:
This seems to be a good time to throw out the obvious question (and do a bit of boasting). How many digits of pi do you know?
Instead of memorizing the digits (or order of them, as fnxtr pointed out), here's a factoid some of you might find useful to remember: to within 1%, there are pi x 10E8 seconds in a non-leap year. Makes it very easy to convert between years and seconds.
23 Comments
gdavidson418 · 14 March 2015
Measuring time in pi isn't rational.
Glen Davidson
Henry J · 14 March 2015
Maybe not, but it is transcendental!
Matt Young · 14 March 2015
Good article in the Times here. No puns, unfortunately.
stevaroni · 14 March 2015
We're just gonna go around in circles all day aren't we?
Matt Young · 14 March 2015
My grandson Noah Young has pointed out that UberUltimate Pi Day was in the year 1592. The UberUltimate Pi Moment was 3.14.1592 6:53:58.97, two digits more precise than any other year.
Also, my old friend Peter Rice reminded me that today is Einstein's birthday and directed me to this Website, which displays 4 Einstein trivia -- or perhaps 3 trivia and 1 fact. The fact is slightly bungled, but never mind; the blurbs are interesting.
Mike Elzinga · 14 March 2015
The bright kids at the "Nerd Farm" where I taught liked pi day and mol day. As I recall, there was once a hilarious performance of "You'll Get Pi in the Sky When You Die" - sung to the tune of "The Sweet By and By" (which also, by the way, inspired another tune about materialism entitled "The Sweet Buy and Buy." Unfortunately I failed to record the words.
The biology instructor also liked to introduce "I'm My Own Grandpa" during her genetics unit.
I also have this vague recollection that some years ago there were some weird fundamentalists complaining about schools having days in which students worshipped Devil numbers. I don't know if it was some stupid urban legend, but apparently there are some people who just don't get it.
https://me.yahoo.com/a/V.VkPS45yPPSxXmamVuN2XBJ.6kNQy4-#e5fea · 14 March 2015
stevaroni · 14 March 2015
Matt Young · 14 March 2015
Paul Burnett · 14 March 2015
Creationists all know that pi = 3.000 - see 1 Kings 7:23:
"And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about."
Henry J · 14 March 2015
But then they ask:
"Lord, what's a cubit?"
AltairIV · 15 March 2015
This seems to be a good time to throw out the obvious question (and do a bit of boasting). How many digits of pi do you know? Has anyone here ever bothered to memorize more than a handful of digits?
I currently have 100 places under my belt. I'm curious to see if anybody here can top it.
Joe Felsenstein · 15 March 2015
Sadly, in much of world Saturday wasn't Pi Day.
While we were celebrating a moment that was 3.141592653289, they were only celebrating 1.432015 (or was it 1.4032015?), which was at least 11 days after Root 2 Day, but nowhere near Pi. In fact, Pi Day will never come in most places. Even in Siracusa, Italy.
TomS · 15 March 2015
ksplawn · 15 March 2015
Why not both? Have 2xPi days per year!
W. H. Heydt · 15 March 2015
Re: AltairIV... One of the items mentioned at the Pi Day activities at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA yesterday was that someone in Germany has memorized Pi out to something over 67,000 places. The most I ever managed was 70 places, but I wuit working on it when the person I was competing with didn't make it past 65 places.
And speaking of the Pi Day goings on... There was also a 3-hour time slot for people to show off various projects made using Raspberry Pi computers. I set up 4 of them (of different models...A+, B, B+ and Pi2B) for people to try out and had a steady stream of kids playing with them.
fnxtr · 15 March 2015
harold · 15 March 2015
Carl Drews · 16 March 2015
In Europe they can look forward to celebrating an accurate Pi Day on 3 January 4159, or 3/1/4159. By cheating a bit on the format of military time they can wake up after midnight and hold their celebration at 2:6:53.58979
eric · 16 March 2015
Henry J · 16 March 2015
10E8? How about 10E7 instead?
eric · 17 March 2015
Yep you're right.
Henry J · 22 March 2015
Going in circles? But, Pi R square!