4 ms·

Approximating Pi Using a Cake?

45 points by earthboundkid 4y ago

29athrowaway 4y ago
Use a pendulum and a clock
- sargstuff 4y ago
  one true way to condense the tock, awk/print the relevant Unicode symbol related to number of tics.
arjvik 4y ago
Anyone up to count sprinkles? Let's see if this simulation worked in real life!
- sargstuff 4y ago
  Are simulation results limited to data not ingested? For non-automated, real life counts, would be good to have the standard deviation of ingested data / time to arrive at total count.
- rob74 4y ago
  I'm just imagining that someone really did this and after all that effort realized how spectacularly off the value they got is, then proceeded to doubt and redo their calculations, only to later realize that the method is at fault...
- glapworth 4y ago
  I love this, but I thought that the sprinkles need to be the same length in order for the calculation to work? Looking at the image in the article, the length of the sprinkles seem to vary with some being just dots and the others are of a similar length. I wonder if it would work if you discounted those smaller dot sprinkles?
  - sargstuff 4y ago
    Think the follow up article addresses the sprinkle variations using lambda calculus.
- eurasiantiger 4y ago
  Just take a better picture and code it up
  - sargstuff 4y ago
    Way to much time/effort ;-) 1) use sprinkles of all one color shade (other than frosting color). 2) take picture with filter color of sprinkles. 3) either a or b a) print out the picture so that sprinkle spots allow light to shine through & non-sprinkle area blocks light shinning through. b) show picture full screen. 4) Use lens to focus light from 3a or 3b onto photo diode (generate sound or light intensity) 5) Figure out a chart showing the average size / number of sprinkles based on light intensity / generated sound. chart calibration test case: use tape/paper to block more and more of a cake size screen holes in order to calibrate the light reduction ratio. aka 3 meters of sprinkles gives 90% reduction in light for given cake size. ~1 screen hole (1mm average sprinkle size) over 3m -> 3000 sprinkles.
sorokod 4y ago
The author confuses circle and disk
- eru 4y ago
  Colloquial English doesn't make as strict of a distinction as mathematical usage does. It doesn't introduce any ambiguity here.
  - sorokod 4y ago
    Given the subject matter colloquial English is not appropriate here.
    - eru 4y ago
      The article isn't even using π, but 'pi'. I don't think they strove for rigour and formality.
      - sargstuff 4y ago
        So, if the article was serving up on a raspberry pi instead of sprinkles on frosting, that would make things more rigourous/formal? aka rasberry pi has been put through some rigorous/formal testing methods. Or per ' I don't think they strove for rigour and formality.', what was done to rule out the article being baked & served using a qem rasberry pi?[0] [0] emulating a rasberry pi with qem : https://gist.github.com/plembo/c4920016312f058209f5765cb9a3a25eu https://gist.github.com/plembo/c4920016312f058209f5765cb9a3a...
        eru 4y ago
        Huh? Sorry, I'm a bit dumbfounded. What does the Raspberry Pi have to do with anything here?
        sargstuff 4y ago
        Semiotic breakdown: Ok, jumping into the deep end of the pool, potential semiotic [0] interpretations: bug screen (Poisson) & computing grid (Fourier). Permits one to crunch the numbers without eating the sprinkles. aka gets around the 'You can't have your cake and eat it'[1] issues. symbolically supports the no formalism approach: a) Pi is irrational number. b)Raspberry is stand in for Bronx cheer [2][3]. Perhaps not being able to eat the cake & complete the project is a good idea (less sugar high & more realistic interpretations/results). [0] : https://www.uvm.edu/~tstreete/semiotics_and_ads/terminology.html https://www.uvm.edu/~tstreete/semiotics_and_ads/terminology.... [1] : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_can%27t_have_your_cake_and_eat_it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_can%27t_have_your_cake_and... [2] : https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/bronx-cheer https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/bron... [3] : https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bronx%20Cheer https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bronx%20Chee...
helsinkiandrew 4y ago
Matt Parker on YouTube has done a number of videos calculating pi with pies, a balancing beam, a drifting car, a pendulum and probably more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNiRzZ66YN0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNiRzZ66YN0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S26_O2B8h8k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S26_O2B8h8k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZbUyS2IRMo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZbUyS2IRMo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYAdXm69l8g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYAdXm69l8g

45 points by earthboundkid 4y ago

29athrowaway 4y ago

Use a pendulum and a clock

sargstuff 4y ago
one true way to condense the tock, awk/print the relevant Unicode symbol related to number of tics.

arjvik 4y ago

Anyone up to count sprinkles? Let's see if this simulation worked in real life!

sargstuff 4y ago
Are simulation results limited to data not ingested? For non-automated, real life counts, would be good to have the standard deviation of ingested data / time to arrive at total count.
rob74 4y ago
I'm just imagining that someone really did this and after all that effort realized how spectacularly off the value they got is, then proceeded to doubt and redo their calculations, only to later realize that the method is at fault...
glapworth 4y ago
I love this, but I thought that the sprinkles need to be the same length in order for the calculation to work? Looking at the image in the article, the length of the sprinkles seem to vary with some being just dots and the others are of a similar length. I wonder if it would work if you discounted those smaller dot sprinkles?
- sargstuff 4y ago
  Think the follow up article addresses the sprinkle variations using lambda calculus.
eurasiantiger 4y ago
Just take a better picture and code it up
- sargstuff 4y ago
  Way to much time/effort ;-) 1) use sprinkles of all one color shade (other than frosting color). 2) take picture with filter color of sprinkles. 3) either a or b a) print out the picture so that sprinkle spots allow light to shine through & non-sprinkle area blocks light shinning through. b) show picture full screen. 4) Use lens to focus light from 3a or 3b onto photo diode (generate sound or light intensity) 5) Figure out a chart showing the average size / number of sprinkles based on light intensity / generated sound. chart calibration test case: use tape/paper to block more and more of a cake size screen holes in order to calibrate the light reduction ratio. aka 3 meters of sprinkles gives 90% reduction in light for given cake size. ~1 screen hole (1mm average sprinkle size) over 3m -> 3000 sprinkles.

sorokod 4y ago

The author confuses circle and disk

eru 4y ago
Colloquial English doesn't make as strict of a distinction as mathematical usage does. It doesn't introduce any ambiguity here.
- sorokod 4y ago
  Given the subject matter colloquial English is not appropriate here.
  - eru 4y ago
    The article isn't even using π, but 'pi'. I don't think they strove for rigour and formality.
    - sargstuff 4y ago
      So, if the article was serving up on a raspberry pi instead of sprinkles on frosting, that would make things more rigourous/formal? aka rasberry pi has been put through some rigorous/formal testing methods. Or per ' I don't think they strove for rigour and formality.', what was done to rule out the article being baked & served using a qem rasberry pi?[0] [0] emulating a rasberry pi with qem : https://gist.github.com/plembo/c4920016312f058209f5765cb9a3a25eu https://gist.github.com/plembo/c4920016312f058209f5765cb9a3a...
      - eru 4y ago
        Huh? Sorry, I'm a bit dumbfounded. What does the Raspberry Pi have to do with anything here?
        sargstuff 4y ago
        Semiotic breakdown: Ok, jumping into the deep end of the pool, potential semiotic [0] interpretations: bug screen (Poisson) & computing grid (Fourier). Permits one to crunch the numbers without eating the sprinkles. aka gets around the 'You can't have your cake and eat it'[1] issues. symbolically supports the no formalism approach: a) Pi is irrational number. b)Raspberry is stand in for Bronx cheer [2][3]. Perhaps not being able to eat the cake & complete the project is a good idea (less sugar high & more realistic interpretations/results). [0] : https://www.uvm.edu/~tstreete/semiotics_and_ads/terminology.html https://www.uvm.edu/~tstreete/semiotics_and_ads/terminology.... [1] : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_can%27t_have_your_cake_and_eat_it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_can%27t_have_your_cake_and... [2] : https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/bronx-cheer https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/bron... [3] : https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bronx%20Cheer https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bronx%20Chee...

helsinkiandrew 4y ago

Matt Parker on YouTube has done a number of videos calculating pi with pies, a balancing beam, a drifting car, a pendulum and probably more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNiRzZ66YN0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNiRzZ66YN0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S26_O2B8h8k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S26_O2B8h8k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZbUyS2IRMo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZbUyS2IRMo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYAdXm69l8g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYAdXm69l8g