Today is the iconic Pi Day 2017, the cornerstone of mathematics or simply put the “ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159.” Relegated to circles in schools, the infinite nature of Pi makes it challenging to remember. According to mathematician Steven Strogatz who wrote in previous The New Yorker edition why pi deserves a massive celebration is because it “puts infinity within reach”. According to Strogatz pi digits are never ending and do not reveal a pattern either. Strogatz elevated the status of pi to a cosmic wormhole, joining two separate mathematical universes via the number theory linking circles and geometry. The Pi Day 2017 celebration isn’t just confined to glitzy eulogies — the storied Princeton has an annual Pi Day 2017 party that also coincides with Albert Einstein’s birthday, also March 14.
In one of the most interesting line up of events – NASA has set an engaging classroom activity to jog young minds titled Pi In the Sky. The educational activity entails using the “famed mathematical constant pi to solve real-world science and engineering problems – such as calculating the angle of crater impacts on the red planet Mars; measuring the size of the shadow that will fall on North America during the 2017 total solar eclipse; determining the orbital period of the Cassini spacecraft during its final weeks around Saturn; and finally finding a habitable zone around TRAPPIST-1, a star housing seven Earth-sized planets.
Here’s a bit of fun fact — Pi Day has been celebrated by mathematicians and maths lovers around the world since it was first marked at the San Francisco Exploratium in 1988.
What’s more, the San Francisco Exploratorium is celebrating the 30th annual Pi Day 2017 and father of relativity, Einstein’s birthday with day long events that are open to all. Events range from processions to Pi shrine, Pi-themed antics and of course plenty of pie. Another notable events is ongoing Festival of Numbers at Singapore’s Science Centre with Singapore Prime Minister joining in the celebrations by enlisting some brain teasers. One of the most common puzzles is trying to memorize as many as digits as you can.
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