- #1
ramsey2879
- 841
- 3
"Most people with a basic understanding of math probably knew that Thursday was 3.14 and therefore Pi Day, because that is the number of the ratio between a circle's circumference and its diameter."
"But the actual number is much longer -- in fact, the decimals go on for at least 10 trillion digits. Math geeks had to give up counting, and computers are still trying to find the figure."
Never mind that the number Pi is infinite in length, i.e. the decimal Pi is never ending; and thus, computers will never "find" the length of Pi.
Found in "Pupils acquire a taste for pi," about a group of fifth graders who measured the diameter and circumference of various circular objects and computed the ratio. The Freelance Star, Fredericksburg, Va. Could it be that the education system deems that 5th grade is too early to explain that the actual number Pi is infinite in length? Or are fifth graders more knowledgeable about math than the reporter?
"But the actual number is much longer -- in fact, the decimals go on for at least 10 trillion digits. Math geeks had to give up counting, and computers are still trying to find the figure."
Never mind that the number Pi is infinite in length, i.e. the decimal Pi is never ending; and thus, computers will never "find" the length of Pi.
Found in "Pupils acquire a taste for pi," about a group of fifth graders who measured the diameter and circumference of various circular objects and computed the ratio. The Freelance Star, Fredericksburg, Va. Could it be that the education system deems that 5th grade is too early to explain that the actual number Pi is infinite in length? Or are fifth graders more knowledgeable about math than the reporter?