A number I have always had love for. Even remembered it ( π) to over 200 digits once!
A number known, or discovered, by many for four thousand years. The relationship between a circle's circumference and diameter. A rather irrational number that's presented many challenges to being known, or calculated. Now we simply press a button with a π (symbol) and it gives us a fairly accurate enough estimation of about 3.14159265359.
Spoke about this with Alyze Sam years ago who wrote an article about it and is a great reference, and also a writer in tech, or more importantly crypto.
The REAL Life of Pi: Ethereal, Romantic, Mysterious And Completely Memorizing
“Probably no symbol in mathematics has evoked as much mystery, romanticism, misconception and human interest as the number Pi” ~William L. Schaaf, Nature and History of Pi. π
Nearly 4,000 years ago, “the ancient Babylonians calculated the area of a circle by taking 3 times the square of its radius, which gave a value of pi = 3. One Babylonian tablet (ca. 1900–1680 BC) indicates a value of 3.125 for π, which is a closer approximation.”
Another estimation of 22/7 which you may have come across while the Math (by Archimedes) above also proves π to be less than 22/7.
Archimedes drew a polygon inside a circle and drew a second polygon outside of the circle. Then he continuously added more and more sides of both polygons, getting closer and closer to the shape of the circle. Having reached 96-sided polygons, he proved that 223/71 < pi < 22/7.
Numerous great calculators over the years discovering more accurate numbers, estimations, and methods for further finding pi.
Like the development of an infinite series method in the 16th and 17th century.
Then, in mid 1600’s, using calculus, English mathematician and physicist Isaac Newton used infinite series to compute π to 15 digits. In 1699, Newton and German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz together discovered π reached 71 digits. Those found 100 digits in 1706, and calculated 620 digits in 1956, which was the best approximation achieved manually.
Another interesting thing is that Isaac Newton may have learned about some things leading to his shared knowledge of gravity and other things from the Emerald Tablets by Thoth.
“Every major civilization had its theories of π and its mathematicians who tried to explain it. Ancient Egypt and Babylon and India. The Greek Archimedes, the Greco-Roman Ptolemy, the ancient Chinese and Indians — all figured out this ratio, which exists both on paper and, as if by some sort of divine plan, throughout nature.” Source
Also the idea that π isn't "the" number but that of "tau" which is 2π. Will get back to later.
In an episode of the original Star Trek, Mr. Spock — played by the late, great Jewish actor Leonard Nimoy — commands an evil computer that has taken over the life support system of the Starship Enterprise to compute pi to the last digit. Spock therefore outwitted the murderous cyborg, which wound up self-destructing, because, as Spock explained, “the value of pi is a transcendental figure without resolution.” Being totally logical, Spock wasn’t suggesting that pi had some sort of spiritual quality of transcendence. Rather, transcendental is a math term, and I’m going to spare you the definition in hopes that you keep reading beyond this paragraph. But in spite of Spock and his logic, pi just may have a spiritual quality of transcendence.
originally mentioned in the Hebrew Book of Kings in reference to a ritual pool in King Solomon’s Temple. The relevant verse (1 Kings 7:23) states that the diameter of the pool was ten cubits and the circumference 30 cubits. In other words, the Bible rounds off pi to about three, as if to say that’s good enough for horseshoes and swimming pools.
Officially a day of it's own thanks to the House of Representatives in 2009.
Albert Einstein was also born on this day, 3/14.
Then enter Tau, Tau day, and the Tau manifesto.
Tau Day is a celebration of the circle constant
Founded in 2010 with the publication of The Tau Manifesto by Michael Hartl, Tau Day takes place annually on June 28 (6/28 in the American calendar system).
Happy Pi day