March 14 is World Pi Day, a celebration of the maths symbol. (Envato Elements pic)
Today is World Pi Day! Wait – pi or pie? Sorry, foodies, it’s the former.
Before you put away your baking mittens, though, here’s a fun fact: some people do observe this day by gorging on pastries!
What is pi, anyway? Well, if this mathematical symbol is worth celebrating, it must be important. And it is.
Circular objects are everywhere around you: the coins in your wallet, the wheels on your car, the plates you eat pie off of.
When you measure the radius or diameter of a circle, it is easy enough to do with a ruler. For the circumference, however, you would need measuring tape… or a certain Greek symbol.
Basically, the larger the diameter of a circle, the larger its circumference and vice-versa. Divide the circumference by its diameter and you will always get the same ratio, regardless of the size of the circle.
This ratio, dear readers, is the constant known as pi. And it has been known to mathematicians since ancient times, with Chinese, Greek, Babylonian and Indian scientists of yore having made record of it.
In fact, the ancient Egyptians – great builders and equally great scholars – likely used the ratio when designing their towering monuments.
Did the ancient Egyptians use pi to design their great pyramids? In all likelihood, yes. (AP pic)
If there is any calculation involving circles, pi is a must-have – be it to determine the capacity of water tanks or figure out if an asteroid is heading for Earth.
Whether for science projects or economics, pi helps data scientists come up with more detailed results. And, on a grander scale, physicists use it when they consider how tiny particles move in circular orbits.
In maths, pi is what is known as an irrational number. If you wrote it in decimal form, you would start off with 3.14, but the figure would thereafter keep going for eternity.
Even with today’s big, fancy computers, the exact value of pi has yet to be unveiled. Heck, great minds have been trying to figure it out since time immemorial.
History dictates that the first person who tried to calculate its value was the Greek scientist Archimedes. In Europe during the Middle Ages, scientists with nothing better to do got as far as 10 decimal places.
Meanwhile, our new-fangled computers have achieved two quadrillion digits. #progress
The pi symbol was designated by mathematician William Jones, while World Pi Day coincides with Albert Einstein’s birthday. (Wikipedia/AFP pics)
For those who are wondering, it was the Welsh mathematician William Jones (1675-1749) who first used π to represent pi, and the symbol has stuck ever since.
As for why World Pi Day is celebrated on March 14, you can chalk it up to the American date format, where 3/14 are the first three digits of pi.
It also happens that a certain brainiac named Albert Einstein was born on this day as well.
The first World Pi Day was organised in 1988 when a US scientist figured it would help make maths more accessible. The jury’s out on whether that has worked.
And, as mentioned above, the day is commemorated in some academic circles by savouring circular treats. So, if you’re an arithmetic aficionado observing Ramadan, perhaps consider breaking your fast with pizzas or pies?
Finally, memorisation competitions tend to be held on World Pi Day, with the Guinness World Record holder being a 21-year-old Indian student who recalled 70,000 digits over 10 hours.
If you would like to have a go, here are the first 100 digits:
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All the best!
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