Posted on 06/28/2011 7:09:39 PM PDT by decimon
The mathematical constant pi is under threat from a group of detractors who will be marking "Tau Day" on Tuesday.
Tau Day revellers suggest a constant called tau should take its place: twice as large as pi, or about 6.28 - hence the 28 June celebration.
Tau proponents say that for many problems in maths, tau makes more sense and makes calculations easier.
Not all fans of maths agree, however, and pi's rich history means it will be a difficult number to unseat.
"I like to describe myself as the world's leading anti-pi propagandist," said Michael Hartl, an educator and former theoretical physicist.
"When I say pi is wrong, it doesn't have any flaws in its definition - it is what you think it is, a ratio of circumference to diameter. But circles are not about diameters, they're about radii; circles are the set of all the points a given distance - a radius - from the centre," Dr Hartl explained to BBC News.
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"What's amazing is the 'conversion experience': people find themselves almost violently angry at pi. They feel like they've been lied to their whole lives, so it's amazing how many people express their displeasure with pi in the strongest possible terms - often involving profanity.
"I don't condone any actual violence - that would be really bizarre, wouldn't it?"
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Ping
To get your mind off of that bogus Hebrew tablet. ;-)
anti-Pi??
I have heard of some trivial causes but this has got to be high on that list.
the british communistic collective is good at these stories to nowhere. Don’t be enthralled.
Oh, it isn't? OK, never mind.
Because multiplying by 2 is so difficult?
tau, pi, all Greek to me.
>>anti-Pi??<<
Pi R not squared. Pi R round....
(OK, it is a joke older than the formula itself but what the heck...) ;)
Fun fact of the day: Newton was a life-long virgin.
lol...the author must run with quite a crowd.
Ah, I have seen mathematikers become pugalists, over just some trivia as this.
Shock, horror, and finally - humor.
What can I say, I had to laugh.
...as long as Rebecca Black isn’t making a “Tau Day” video, I’m not really concerned....
These fools propose we all memorize that the area of a circle is one-half tau times r squared?
I propose a new unit called the dolt. 1 dolt equals 28 kilobidens. 1 square biden equals 1 obamadon. 1 obamadon equals 10^-8 erg-pelosi.
Cornbreads’ square.
With today’s computers it takes 0.00001 seconds to multiply by 2.
As if there’s not enough to fight about.
It will be harder to make jokes with Tau.
“No, Pie are round, cornbread are square”
(Ok. I apologize for making a 'sick joke'. I could not resist)
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