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What chaos must result from Pi Day?

vehemenz 5y ago
It's chaos enough that anyone thinks Pi Day is interesting. 1. Calendar dates are usually Big Endian, except in the US and a few other places. 2. 3.14 is not the value of pi in the decimal system. It is an approximation. 3. As it is, the updated Gregorian calendar is arbitrarily chosen. 4. The decimal system that gives significance to pi's approximate value is arbitrarily chosen. Yes, I am a treat at parties.
- gamerDude 5y ago
  6.28 You get to joke around about how many pi radians of pie you can eat.
- floren 5y ago
  Sounds like somebody doesn't Fucking Love Science!
- AnimalMuppet 5y ago
  2. Yes, but at some point in that day, the value will be exactly pi. And if you're a real geek about such things, you can at least get it down to one second. Yes, it will be at an instant within that second, but you could enjoy the whole second as the second that contained that instant. Or, you know, you could enjoy the whole day...
  - jameshart 5y ago
    ‘Be exactly pi’ in what sense? is the point during the day when you’re .159265… of the way through 3/14 the relevant moment? Or is it at 1:59:26.5…? But then, the 14th isn’t .14 of the way through March, and ‘months’ aren’t a consistent unit anyway so There’s no sense in which you can choose a moment in time ‘pi months’ into the year anyway.. so in what sense does ‘exactly pi’ occur during pi day at all? It’s a very weird milestone to associate with pi, in general. The calendar is derived from a circle, after all, so pi can crop up in far more significant ways. Why not celebrate the moment when the earth has traveled 1 radian round the sun?
    - vehemenz 5y ago
      Wow, I never even thought of that. Associating pi with a place in the orbit, ideally one of the equinoxes, would actually make sense.
- OJFord 5y ago
  You could make a similar argument against any 'day'; birthdays included. I don't think anyone thinks it's 'interesting' or has any sort of actual connection with pi. It's just a silly day to.. 'celebrate' pi, like any other day for anything else.
- hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago
  > The decimal system that gives significance to pi's approximate value In what way does the decimal system "give significance" to pi's approximation?
  - vehemenz 5y ago
    In base 12, for example, pi is 3.18480949. It would turn out to be a different date.
- dpatterbee 5y ago
  That just sounds like 4 extra reasons that it is indeed interesting.
- andrewaylett 5y ago
  Pi Day is a US thing. The rest of the world celebrates Pi Approximation Day on the 22nd July. And 22/7 is a better approximation than 3.14.
- TheAceOfHearts 5y ago
  Pi isn't a value, it's a function.
  - vehemenz 5y ago
    Are you repeating something a high school math teacher told you, or are you engaging in some kind of mathematical platonism? Either way, you're going to need an argument.

It's chaos enough that anyone thinks Pi Day is interesting. 1. Calendar dates are usually Big Endian, except in the US and a few other places. 2. 3.14 is not the value of pi in the decimal system. It is an approximation. 3. As it is, the updated Gregorian calendar is arbitrarily chosen. 4. The decimal system that gives significance to pi's approximate value is arbitrarily chosen. Yes, I am a treat at parties.

gamerDude 5y ago
6.28 You get to joke around about how many pi radians of pie you can eat.
floren 5y ago
Sounds like somebody doesn't Fucking Love Science!
AnimalMuppet 5y ago
2. Yes, but at some point in that day, the value will be exactly pi. And if you're a real geek about such things, you can at least get it down to one second. Yes, it will be at an instant within that second, but you could enjoy the whole second as the second that contained that instant. Or, you know, you could enjoy the whole day...
- jameshart 5y ago
  ‘Be exactly pi’ in what sense? is the point during the day when you’re .159265… of the way through 3/14 the relevant moment? Or is it at 1:59:26.5…? But then, the 14th isn’t .14 of the way through March, and ‘months’ aren’t a consistent unit anyway so There’s no sense in which you can choose a moment in time ‘pi months’ into the year anyway.. so in what sense does ‘exactly pi’ occur during pi day at all? It’s a very weird milestone to associate with pi, in general. The calendar is derived from a circle, after all, so pi can crop up in far more significant ways. Why not celebrate the moment when the earth has traveled 1 radian round the sun?
  - vehemenz 5y ago
    Wow, I never even thought of that. Associating pi with a place in the orbit, ideally one of the equinoxes, would actually make sense.
OJFord 5y ago
You could make a similar argument against any 'day'; birthdays included. I don't think anyone thinks it's 'interesting' or has any sort of actual connection with pi. It's just a silly day to.. 'celebrate' pi, like any other day for anything else.
hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago
> The decimal system that gives significance to pi's approximate value In what way does the decimal system "give significance" to pi's approximation?
- vehemenz 5y ago
  In base 12, for example, pi is 3.18480949. It would turn out to be a different date.
dpatterbee 5y ago
That just sounds like 4 extra reasons that it is indeed interesting.
andrewaylett 5y ago
Pi Day is a US thing. The rest of the world celebrates Pi Approximation Day on the 22nd July. And 22/7 is a better approximation than 3.14.
TheAceOfHearts 5y ago
Pi isn't a value, it's a function.
- vehemenz 5y ago
  Are you repeating something a high school math teacher told you, or are you engaging in some kind of mathematical platonism? Either way, you're going to need an argument.