3 ms·

I like the idea of Tau but "pi is wrong" is wrong. Pi is correct. The pitch for Tau is as a replacement for Pi. That it is more logical than Pi. Tau has an im

by Zhyl 5y ago

I like the idea of Tau but "pi is wrong" is wrong. Pi is correct. The pitch for Tau is as a replacement for Pi. That it is more logical than Pi. Tau has an important lesson to tell: intuition is important and in many cases shifting things around so they're easier to create an intuitive understanding is often very trivial and boils down to aesthetic/representation choices. Claiming that "pi is wrong" is picking a fight that doesn't need to be fought with a crowd that will not be convinced. Instead, if I were a more full Tau advocate I would do more along the lines of Khalid from Betterexplained and seek to find other interesting intuitive takes on dry topics that are often taught by wrote.

bsder 5y ago
While the article goes for tongue-in-cheek, it brings up an important point. Pedagogy is important. And pedagogy can get stuck. "Electromagnetism" is a good example. We still learn the Heaviside-Hertz formalisms which are based around an "ether". Why?--Because they work and you can calculate a lot of simple systems by hand. This helps A) develop intuition and B) generate calculations which approximate more complex systems. However, once you start trying to do motors and capacitors and stuff--things get weird (starting with "displacement current"). At that point, the fields formulations tend to work much better (See: "Collective Electrodynamics" by Carver Mead). However, your calculations take a jump in complexity that you didn't have to deal with before--your linear algebra and vector analysis better be pretty solid. However, dealing with motors and coupled fields and stuff gets much easier.
- noir_lord 5y ago
  Not unusual, we still mostly use Newtonian physics even though we know it's only an approximate solution because the math comes out close enough until you get in the realm where you are talking decent fractions of C. I mean Newtonian methods put is on the moon so they are good enough for a lot of cases. Something as 'simple' as inertia looks very different once you step from Newtonian/special to general relativity.
hilbert42 5y ago
"pi is wrong" It's just hyperbole to get everyone's attention. From that perspective it's pretty good I reckon.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- slver 5y ago
  It got my attention, and when I realized it's yet another article about tau, it lost my attention.
  - alexvoda 5y ago
    It is not yet another article about Tau, it is THE original article about Tau. As in, the one who proclaimed this is the symbol and name of the symbol that should replace Pi. There were others before that suggested other symbols like a Pi with three legs. The concept of Tau is not new. The issue at this point is just convincing people to use Tau and getting it into textbooks. And for this purpose, the loudness of the manifest by claiming Pi is wrong has worked wonderfully. The topic has been debated and reiterated plenty if times using this title.
karmakaze 5y ago
But Pi is the wrong transcendental number. That's the point. We're really studying Tau/2. Can we at least stop beeping out Pi picking say e and stop being an embarrassment in the galaxy?

by Zhyl 5y ago

bsder 5y ago

While the article goes for tongue-in-cheek, it brings up an important point. Pedagogy is important. And pedagogy can get stuck. "Electromagnetism" is a good example. We still learn the Heaviside-Hertz formalisms which are based around an "ether". Why?--Because they work and you can calculate a lot of simple systems by hand. This helps A) develop intuition and B) generate calculations which approximate more complex systems. However, once you start trying to do motors and capacitors and stuff--things get weird (starting with "displacement current"). At that point, the fields formulations tend to work much better (See: "Collective Electrodynamics" by Carver Mead). However, your calculations take a jump in complexity that you didn't have to deal with before--your linear algebra and vector analysis better be pretty solid. However, dealing with motors and coupled fields and stuff gets much easier.

noir_lord 5y ago
Not unusual, we still mostly use Newtonian physics even though we know it's only an approximate solution because the math comes out close enough until you get in the realm where you are talking decent fractions of C. I mean Newtonian methods put is on the moon so they are good enough for a lot of cases. Something as 'simple' as inertia looks very different once you step from Newtonian/special to general relativity.

hilbert42 5y ago

"pi is wrong" It's just hyperbole to get everyone's attention. From that perspective it's pretty good I reckon.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
slver 5y ago
It got my attention, and when I realized it's yet another article about tau, it lost my attention.
- alexvoda 5y ago
  It is not yet another article about Tau, it is THE original article about Tau. As in, the one who proclaimed this is the symbol and name of the symbol that should replace Pi. There were others before that suggested other symbols like a Pi with three legs. The concept of Tau is not new. The issue at this point is just convincing people to use Tau and getting it into textbooks. And for this purpose, the loudness of the manifest by claiming Pi is wrong has worked wonderfully. The topic has been debated and reiterated plenty if times using this title.

karmakaze 5y ago

But Pi is the wrong transcendental number. That's the point. We're really studying Tau/2. Can we at least stop beeping out Pi picking say e and stop being an embarrassment in the galaxy?