‘Pi Day’ This Year Is Extra Special: 3.14.15 [video]
Fans of Pi Day will have an extra special reason to celebrate the mathematical constant this year on March 14, 2015. This year’s date correlates to the first five digits of pi. Die-hard pi fans will recognize the precise time of 9:26:53 as carrying out pi to 10 digits.
Or 3.141592653.
The Times of India reported that this magic pi moment won’t occur for another 100 years.
Across the world, people celebrate Pi Day in creative ways. While many teachers order pizza pies for their classrooms, many others celebrate pi in more cerebral fashions.
“Most celebrations on this day involved finding out more and more digits of the constant, since it’s an irrational number, its digits never end or repeat,” said Pratijyut Ghose, an amateur mathematician.
“Hence, it is extremely difficult but a fun task to find more digits of pi (after the decimal point).”
The New York Times reported that with the advent of computers, pi has been worked out to trillions of digits through the use of custom-built personal computers. While computers have obviously out-performed human memorization of pi’s digits, the memorization feats of a few elite pi devotees are astonishing.
Currently, the Guinness Book of records recognizes Chao Lu from China for memorizing the most digits of pi at an astounding 67,890 digits, according to The Guardian. But in 2006, that record was smashed by Akira Haraguchi of Japan. He was able to recite pi out to 100,000 digits during a 16-hour plus public event near Tokyo.
“To me, reciting pi’s digits has the same meaning as chanting the Buddhist mantra and meditating,” Haraguchi said.
“I’m actually trying to do more these days, making it a daily goal to recite more than 25,000 digits, which takes me about three hours.”
Since 2012, MIT has recognized Pi Day by informing applicants of its decision at 6:28 p.m., according to Boston.com. The recent practice is not only a nod to pi, but a simultaneous recognition of tau as well, which is pi times two, or 6.28.
Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Pi is also part of the formula for the inside of a circle: A = ?r2. Pi has many practical mathematical applications in the real world, and is fundamental for describing the atomic world.
“All things in this world, including ourselves, are aggregate sums of atoms, which are made up of rotating electrons,” Haraguchi said.
“The ultimate history of mankind is moving toward a happy ending for people of all races. The earth, the galaxy and the universe all rotate. In other words, I think rotation is the absolute truth. So as long as I’m thinking about pi, I think I can live a life according to truth.”
The Inquisitr reported on a Pi Day celebration featuring a Spock video for Star Trek fans earlier this week.
[Image courtesy of Holger Motzkau/Wikipedia]
