For those of you who do not live or hang out with mathematicians, today is 3.14 - the day of the year that most resembles Pi. Hence: Pi Day!
As I am a fan of mathematicians (and of the other, slightly more delicious pie) I offer the following links of the day:
- How to calculate the circumfrence of a circle (because sometimes you just want to know)
- Join a discussion about how you and others celebrate this important day
- Make a pi cake (link to recipe included. Mmmm, chocolate raspberry pi cake...)
- Get cozy with your very own set of fuzzy math symbols
But that is a few years off. For now, I recommend you live a little: eat some pi. Er, pie.
Happy \pi day!!!
ReplyDeletePi
ReplyDeleteby Wislawa Szymborska
The admirable number pi:
three point one four one.
All the following digits are also just a start,
five nine two because it never ends.
It can't be grasped, six five three five,
at a glance,
eight nine, by calculation,
seven nine, through imagination,
or even three two three eight in jest,
or by comparison
four six to anything
two six four three in the world.
The longest snake on earth ends
at thirty-odd feet.
Same goes for fairy tale snakes,
though they make it a little longer.
The caravan of digits that is pi
does not stop at the edge of the page,
but runs off the table and into the air,
over the wall, a leaf, a bird's nest, the clouds, straight into the sky,
through all the bloatedness and bottomlessness.
Oh how short, all but mouse-like
is the comet's tail!
How frail is a ray of starlight,
bending in any old space!
Meanwhile two three fifteen
three hundred nineteen
my phone number your shirt size
the year nineteen hundred and seventy-three
sixth floor
number of inhabitants sixty-five cents
hip measurement two fingers
a charade and a code,
in which we find how blithe the trostle sings!
and please remain calm,
and heaven and earth shall pass away,
but not pi, that won't happen,
it still has an okay five,
and quite a fine eight,
and all but final seven,
prodding and prodding a plodding eternity
to last.
Translated by Joanna Trzeciak
The poem is great! Is that your papa?
ReplyDeleteNP is Ada's pop (Chris).
ReplyDeleteWe just got back from a pi day celebration!
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to learn fuzzy maths but have never really had the motivation. Or ability. I do love that poem, though.
ReplyDelete