Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

I Celebrate Pi Day

[b][c=#BF0080]Happy birthday π ! [/c] [/b]

Today (3/14) is π day.

(1) π is equal to the ratio of the circumference of a circle and its diameter.

(2) π is a [i]transcendental[/i] number. Briefly, this means that [i]we do not know its value[/i], and we never will, haha. π, you’ll always be a mystery.

(3) π is (most likely) a [i]normal[/i] number: the distribution probability of digits within π is random. If we assign a [i]pair of consecutive digits[/i] to a character (such as "65"="A", cf. ASCII code table) we will find the contents of each book that has ever been written (even bad books, those behind the front row on our shelves) somewhere along the digits of π, and also any book that has [i]not[/i] been written, and all variations thereof. There will be a version of Hamlet where Ophelia is called Helen.

(4) The value of π is more fundamental than the physical constants. If the universe did not exist, the physical constants would loose their meaning, but π would remain the same, indicating that [i]spirit is more fundamental than matter.[/i] We, as humans, can change a lot of things, but we can’t change π. Even God cannot change π, sorry Sir, You may have created the world but You did not create π. It’s always been there. And you don't know the value of π either.

(5) π is considered to be one of the five [i]fundamental[/i] numbers: i, e, π, 1, and 0. These numbers appear in the famous equation e^(i*π) + 1 = 0 (Gauss? Euler? Don’t remember.)

[sep][sep]

[c=#BF0080]Happy birthday π!
You’re one of a kind, and we are big fans!

[b]We love you π ![/b][/c]

[sep][sep]
PS: As user “SleepWalker” has pointed out, Prof Albert Einstein was born on π day. Moreover, “samueltyler2” wrote that Prof Stephen Hawking died on π day. Prof Einstein and Prof Hawking have contributed so much to our understanding of the physical world. What an amazing coincidence.–
ArishMell · 70-79, M
Reading things like that (I came to it thanks to your link from the other thread) makes me wish I had the aptitude for mathematics. It was always my weakest subject at school, although I have managed to understand some bits in later years thanks to approaching them from different directions.

For example, it was not until I spotted something about a simple formula in a geology-club lecture that I finally realised what Differentiation does.

Logarithms had been a mystery for years although I could use them as times-sums tools in pre-calculator days. Eventually they reluctantly and rather vaguely revealed themselves to me indirectly, in a combination of work and an interest in bats' echo-location. The connection? The deciBel scale for measuring sound levels - and learning a particularly startling fact about human hearing.

My education never reached the level of Imaginary
Numbers and Hyperbolic Logarithms, though I know vaguely what they are. (When I twigged ordinary logs I found ways to help me understand them better.)
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
Isn't it amazing that hawking died on 3/14?
Quizzical · 46-50, M
@helenS Have you seen the size of me? I'm no stranger to pies, lol
helenS · 36-40, F
@Quizzical “Pie day”!
Quizzical · 46-50, M
@helenS Steak and kidney, chicken and leek, minced beef and onion!! 😍
Uncfred · 61-69, M
I use it often as engineer as 3.1416, which is close enough when used in low rise construction. I never realised it had a birthday (It must be a pensioner like me by now)
SW-User
Pi is almost magic. Euler's equation is one of the foundational equations of electrical engineering. It describes how alternating current flows!
[quote](4) The value of π is more fundamental than the physical constants. If the universe did not exist, the physical constants would loose[sic] their meaning, but π would remain the same, indicating that spirit is more fundamental than matter.[/quote]

I am not sure that this is the "lesson", though I agree with the final statement.

[quote]
 We, as humans, can change a lot of things, but we can’t change π. Even God cannot change π, ...[/quote]

If you aren't careful about the definition--e.g., your point (1)--π can and does change. The ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter takes on the value "π" only in flat space (in fact, you can use this to test for flatness of a space).

So, like the sum of the angles of a triangle, the geometry of the space affects the answer.

[quote]
sorry Sir, You may have created the world but You did not create π. It’s always been there.[/quote]

I believe Descartes would agree.
chrisCA · M
[image deleted]
Seewhoitis · 51-55, M
That's why people like pie 🥧 so much 🤷
helenS · 36-40, F
@Seewhoitis Yes, special relativity only though.
Seewhoitis · 51-55, M
@helenS When I was younger I borrowed books on this subject and I still find it fascinating and puzzling. Why does light behave like that...it's still fascinates me lol.
helenS · 36-40, F
@Seewhoitis Yes it's fascinating. Space and time are not what we think they are. Our perception of space and time is flawed because we are as slow as a snail.
Uncfred · 61-69, M
I looked it up on my pc - here goes 3.1415926535897932384626433832795 approximately.😋
helenS · 36-40, F
@Uncfred The first 2*10^(15) digits have been calculated so far. That’s nothing, of course. Somewhere along the digits there is a version of Hamlet where Ophelia is called Helen… :-)
Heartlander · 80-89, M
Nope ....

It's the other way around:

Pi are round,
Cornbread are square.
helenS · 36-40, F
DiscreetWriter · 51-55, M
It's Euler's equation.
helenS · 36-40, F
@DiscreetWriter The most beautiful equation known to man.
DiscreetWriter · 51-55, M
@helenS random thought, what's pi in a non euclidean geometry? If we are in a spherical or hyperbolic geometry, is the ratio of circumference to diameter still 3.14159...?
UnderTheBridge · 46-50, M
Pi is irrational too. Nice post 😊
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@helenS I guess that you are correct. Perhaps they needed to know how much dough went into a round pie, pizza pie? pardon the pun, I just couldn't stop myself!
UnderTheBridge · 46-50, M
@helenS but I think a lot of useless things were discovered only to later be deemed as useful. For example x-ray and photovoltaic effect. They were put to good use only later .
helenS · 36-40, F
@UnderTheBridge
Yes! Semiconductor physics is another perfect example.

On the other hand, I think we should [i]not[/i] investigate the physical world and its spiritual foundations (of which math is a part) [i]because[/i] our results might be of practical importance in the future. We should think about the world, and our place therein, because we are human beings.
JoyfulSilence · 46-50, M
I love math.
You are right about the fantastic co-incidence! I though pi = 3.14. No?
PM me please. Last request. I promise! lol.😇
JoyfulSilence · 46-50, M
@helenS Nobody will ever know it.
helenS · 36-40, F
@JoyfulSilence … including God. He would have to calculate it digit-by-digit, so he’s not finished yet.
JoyfulSilence · 46-50, M
@helenS There is no God.

And nobody would finish. The digits never end and have no repeating pattern. It is hopeless.
helenS · 36-40, F
@flirtyfellow Good point! But we European π fans will celebrate with our American friends! And rightly so, because [i]we[/i] discovered the magic of π.
flirtyfellow · 61-69, M
Would love to chat with you ... not necessarily about pi, unless you insist ... some of your posts are most chatworthy@helenS
helenS · 36-40, F
@flirtyfellow Haha I'm [i]not only[/i] interested in transcendental numbers.
flirtyfellow · 61-69, M
Other things can also be transcendent ... pokingly so, in fact@helenS
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
Why do you think God is a he?
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@helenS I have been reading about Kabbala and the mystics believe that God exists not in any anthropomorphic form. Part of God is male and part female. It makes sense. Just as light has no color until it either pass as through or contacts something that causes us to see it as color, so is God colorless and sexless.
helenS · 36-40, F
@samueltyler2 Yes this makes much sense, as most things do that come from Kabbalah. I believe gnosticism is an extension of that, and I consider myself to be a [i]Gnostic Christian[/i] (I believe there are [i]two[/i] gods), i.e. I am a heretic :-)
But that does not belong into a thread about π, and it would be worth it's own thread.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
@helenS or continue on pm?
NodandaWink · 51-55, M
More appropriately since 3/14 represents,a fraction you would really need to make it July 22nd where the day is written 1st so it would be 22/7.😉
SW-User
Pi is a symbol of the penis, the shaft with it's cap. 😊 Please remember this!
helenS · 36-40, F
@SW-User This has never occurred to me – a very interesting association, which may be well worth a more detailed investigation. 😁
SW-User
@helenS yes, it just might. I would be happy to assist in any way possible.
flirtyfellow · 61-69, M
In Europe they use dd/mm, meaning that their Pi Day is the 31st April which tragically does not exist.
Ozdharma · 61-69, M
Like the golden mean
helenS · 36-40, F
@Ozdharma I sometimes feel like a temporally deplaced person. I listen to UK 70's rock music, I use an archaic obsolete calculator, I use vi as an editor... but I have a MacBook Air, and I program in Perl!
Ozdharma · 61-69, M
@helenS nothing wrong with 70's rock it is ageless
helenS · 36-40, F
@Ozdharma Yes! (Pun intended)
I have always loved and used pi..I hope pi will forgive me ..I wonder if it feel's used? 🤔
SW-User
You remind me of a friend on EP who was a brilliant mathematician.
helenS · 36-40, F
@SW-User I’m not a mathematician. I’m just a big fan of π.
Krishh · 46-50, M
Thanks for the ocean of information.
helenS · 36-40, F
@Krishh I am glad you liked my post, and thank you for replying.
Krishh · 46-50, M
I am a adreant Maths fan.
JohnOinger · 41-45, M
@helens So what do you think of Dwayne Johnson & Would You Do Him
Barebum61 · 61-69, M
Pye over d square
bhatjc · 46-50, M
Lets just eat

 
Post Comment