As I sat down to write this ever-so-nerdy article, I realized it's actually my dad's birthday. So, happy birthday Dad!
But oddly enough my dad shares this special day with some other pretty smart people. Including Albert Einstien.
Which is a perfect segway into talking about pi!
Pi
Unfortunately you can't eat this nummy number, but it can help you get the most bang for your buck next time you go for that favorite pie!
We'll discuss that in a minute– first we have some learning to do.
Pi is a number.
3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510582097494459230781640628620899862803482534211706798214808651328230664709384460955058223172535940812848111745028410270193852110555964462294895493038196442881097566593344612847564823378678316527120190914564856692346034861045432664821339360726024914127372458700660631558817488152092096282925409171536436789259036001133053054882046652138414695194151160943305727036575959195309218611738193261179310511854807446237996274956735188575272489122793818301194912983367336244065664308602139494639522473719070217986094370277053921717629317675238467481846766940513200056812714526356082778577134275778960917363717872146844090122495343014654958537105079227968925892354201995611212902196086403441815981362977477130996051870721134999999837297804995105973
If we're rounding.
But really we often just refer to is as 3.14. And because my hands hurt after typing all of those darn numbers from memory, we'll stick to 3.14 from here on.
Hence Pi Day occurring on March 14th!
But Why is Pi so Special
Glad you asked.
pi or simply "π" is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to it's diameter.
Let me put it this way; if you multiply the diameter of a circle by 3.14 you will get the distance around that circle!
pi has been calculated out to a trillion digits and beyond. No patterns. No repeating. And by the time your kids read an article like this, we'll know even more of those digits!
Pi and Pie
If you aren't a super nerd, you are probably wondering what makes this so special. Well, let me put it this way...
Pi can be used to calculate circumference, area, and even the volume of a 3-d object.
That means, with a little math you can calculate just how much pizza you get if the restaurant simply gives you the diameter of the pie.
I'll let Neil Degrasse Tyson explain:
https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/162243094258008065?lang=en
https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/162249772806316032
https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/606636592720171008?lang=en
So next time you laugh at us nerds, just know we're stuffing our faces with not-so-pricey pie.
Pi Day
I think I've already crossed the line into nerddom with this article. So at this point, if you want to know more— just google pi!
You might be amazed what you find.
For instance, Pi relates bird migration patterns to river flow! No joke.
Happy Pi Day to All, and to All a Good Pie!
— Meteorologist Jeremy LaGoo
ps. e^(i*pi) +1 =0 is the true definition of beauty.