March 14 — or 3/14 in the notation — is Pi Day. It’s a day to celebrate the mathematical and geometric constant known as pi (or more properly π). And pi, of course, is 3.1415…. (it continues forever).
If you slept through high school geometry, π describes the relation between a circle’s diameter and its circumference. That is, if you have a wheel that’s got a diameter of, say a foot, each full rotation of that wheel will go about 3.14 feet.
Wikipedia has a fuller discussion, and graphics. And the, to really burn your brain, you can wiki-hop on over to their treatment of other irrational and transcendental numbers (π is both).
Some people suggest that you should mark March 14 as Pi Day by memorizing the digits of π — do it here, in a “fun” online game.
Others suggest that you should also mark Albert Einstein’s birthday.
Most popular, of course, is the phonetic celebration — celebrate π by eating pie.
That sounds right to me. Now, hmmm, what kind of pie? I suppose I will have to sample a few. Perhaps three and a bit?
Grant Hamilton
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