Pi Day Explained

Holiday Name:Pi Day
Observedby:United States
Significance:3, 1, and 4 are the three most significant figures of in its decimal representation.
Duration:1 day
Frequency:Annual
Scheduling:same day each year
Date:March 14
Mdy:y
Firsttime:1988
Celebrations:Pie eating, pi memorization competitions, discussions about [1]
Relatedto:Pi Approximation Day
Type:default
Longtype:Mathematical

Pi Day is an annual celebration of the mathematical constant (pi). Pi Day is observed on March 14 (the 3rd month) since 3, 1, and 4 are the first three significant figures of, and it was first celebrated in the United States.[2] [3] It was founded in 1988 by Larry Shaw, an employee of a science museum in San Francisco, the Exploratorium. Celebrations often involve eating pie or holding pi recitation competitions. In 2009, the United States House of Representatives supported the designation of Pi Day.[4] UNESCO's 40th General Conference designated Pi Day as the International Day of Mathematics in November 2019.[5] [6]

Other dates when people celebrate pi include Pi Approximation Day on July 22 (22/7 in the day/month format, an approximation of ) and June 28 (6.28, an approximation of 2 or tau).

History

In 1988, the earliest known official or large-scale celebration of Pi Day was organized by Larry Shaw at the San Francisco Exploratorium,[7] where Shaw worked as a physicist,[8] with staff and public marching around one of its circular spaces, then consuming fruit pies.[9] The Exploratorium continues to hold Pi Day celebrations.[10]

On March 12, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution (111 H. Res. 224), recognizing March 14, 2009, as National Pi Day.[11] For Pi Day 2010, Google presented a Google Doodle celebrating the holiday, with the word Google laid over images of circles and pi symbols;[12] and for the 30th anniversary in 2018, it was a Dominique Ansel pie with the circumference divided by its diameter.[13] In Indonesia, as a country that uses the DD/MM/YYYY date format, some people celebrate Pi Day every July 22, referring to another Pi number, namely 22/7.[14]

Some observed the entire month of March 2014 (3/14) as "Pi Month".[15] [16] In the year 2015, March 14 was celebrated as "Super Pi Day".[17] It had special significance, as the date is written as 3/14/15 in month/day/year format. At 9:26:53, the date and time together represented the first ten digits of,[18] and later that second, "Pi Instant" represented all of 's digits.[19]

Observance

Pi Day has been observed in many ways, including eating pie, throwing pies and discussing the significance of the number, due to a pun based on the words "pi" and "pie" being homophones in English, and the coincidental circular shape of many pies.[20] Many pizza and pie restaurants offer discounts, deals, and free products on Pi Day.[21] Also, some schools hold competitions as to which student can recall pi to the highest number of decimal places.[22] [23]

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has often mailed its application decision letters to prospective students for delivery on Pi Day.[24] Starting in 2012, MIT has announced it will post those decisions (privately) online on Pi Day at exactly 6:28 pm, which they have called "Tau Time", to honor the rival numbers pi and tau equally.[25] [26] In 2015, the regular decisions were put online at 9:26 am, following that year's "pi minute",[27] and in 2020, regular decisions were released at 1:59 pm, making the first six digits of pi.[28]

Princeton, New Jersey, hosts numerous events in a combined celebration of Pi Day and Albert Einstein's birthday, which is also March 14.[29] Einstein lived in Princeton for more than twenty years while working at the Institute for Advanced Study. In addition to pie eating and recitation contests, there is an annual Einstein look-alike contest.

In 2024, the recreational mathematician Matt Parker and a team of hundreds of volunteers spent six days calculating 105 correct digits of pi by hand, in what Parker claimed was "the biggest hand calculation in a century".[30] On 15 August 2024, the main-belt asteroid 314159 Mattparker was named in his honor. The citation highlights Parker's annual "Pi Day challenges", stating that they have helped to popularize mathematics.[31] [32]

Alternative dates

Pi Day is frequently observed on March 14 (3/14 in the month/day date format), but related celebrations have been held on alternative dates.

Pi Approximation Day is observed on July 22 (22/7 in the day/month date format), since the fraction is a common approximation of , which is accurate to two decimal places and dates from Archimedes.[33]

Two Pi Day, also known as Tau Day, is observed on June 28 (6/28 in the month/day format).[34] 2, also known by the Greek letter tau, is a common multiple in mathematical formulae and approximates to 6.28. Some have argued that is the more fundamental constant and that Tau Day should be celebrated instead.[35] [36] [37] Celebrations of this date jokingly suggest eating "twice the pie".[38] [39] [40]

Some also celebrate pi on November 10, since it is the 314th day of the year (in leap years, on November 9).[41]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Landau . Elizabeth . March 12, 2010 . On Pi Day, one number 'reeks of mystery' . en . CNN . March 14, 2018.
  2. Web site: Bellos . Alex . March 14, 2015 . Pi Day 2015: a sweet treat for maths fans . March 14, 2016 . theguardian.com.
  3. Web site: March 14, 2015 . Nedräkning mot internationella Pi-dagen . sv . Swedish national radio company.
  4. United States. Cong. House. Supporting the designation of Pi Day, and for other purposes. 111th Cong. Library of Congress
  5. Web site: March 4, 2020 . International Day of Mathematics . UNESCO . en.
  6. Rousseau . Christiane . International Day of Mathematics . September 1, 2019 . Notices of the American Mathematical Society . 66 . 1 . 10.1090/noti1928 . free . 8.
  7. Web site: Berton . Justin . March 11, 2009 . Any way you slice it, pi's transcendental . March 18, 2011 . San Francisco Chronicle.
  8. Web site: Borwein . Jonathan . Jonathan Borwein . March 10, 2011 . The infinite appeal of pi . March 13, 2011 . Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  9. News: Apollo . Adrian . March 10, 2007 . A place where learning pi is a piece of cake . .
  10. Web site: Exploratorium 22nd Annual Pi Day . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110314012746/http://www.exploratorium.edu/pi/index.html . March 14, 2011 . January 31, 2011 . Exploratorium.
  11. News: McCullagh . Declan . March 11, 2009 . National Pi Day? Congress makes it official . Politics and Law . . March 14, 2009.
  12. Web site: Pi Day . October 9, 2012 . Google Doodles.
  13. Web site: 30th Anniversary of Pi Day! . March 19, 2018 . www.google.com . en.
  14. Book: Purworini, D. . Pi Day celebration by local scientists in Indonesia . 2016 . 7 . Anak Sudarti Foundation Bulletin . 7–8.
  15. Main . Douglas . March 14, 2014 . It's Not Just Pi Day, It's Pi Month! . Popular Science . July 22, 2014.
  16. Web site: March 11, 2014 . Pi Month Celebration & Circle of Discovery Award Presentation | College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences . July 22, 2014 . Cmns.umd.edu.
  17. Web site: Mack . Eric . March 14, 2015 . Celebrate The Only Super Pi Day Of The Century . March 14, 2019 . Forbes . en.
  18. Web site: Ro . Sam . March 13, 2014 . March 14, 2015 Will Be A Once-In-A-Century Thrill For Math Geeks . March 13, 2014 . Business Insider.
  19. Rosenthal . Jeffrey S. . Pi Instant . February 2015 . Math Horizons . 22 . 22 . 10.4169/mathhorizons.22.3.22 . 3 . 218542599.
  20. Web site: Smith . K.N. . Wednesday's Google Doodle Celebrates Pi Day . Forbes.
  21. News: . March 13, 2021 . Celebrate Pi Day With These Deals Around North Texas . NBC DFW . May 14, 2022.
  22. Web site: Honiton Community College Pi Day – Jazmin Year 9 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131017125801/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfM1i9_Un_Y . October 17, 2013 . July 22, 2013 . YouTube.
  23. Web site: HCC Celebrate International Pi Day . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140222033538/http://www.honitoncollege.devon.sch.uk/index.php/about-honiton-community-college/10-honiton-community-college-news/146-hcc-international-pi-day-champions . February 22, 2014 . July 22, 2013 . Honitoncollege.devon.sch.uk.
  24. News: McClan . Erin . March 14, 2007 . Pi fans meet March 14 (3.14, get it?) . . https://web.archive.org/web/20130927144029/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/17605924/ . dead . September 27, 2013 . January 24, 2008.
  25. Web site: I have SMASHING news! . March 7, 2012 . March 12, 2012 . MIT Admissions.
  26. Web site: McGann . Matt . Pi Day, Tau Time . March 13, 2012 . March 18, 2012 . MIT Admissions.
  27. Web site: Keep your eyes to the skies this Pi Day . March 6, 2015 . March 14, 2018 . MIT Admissions . en.
  28. Web site: [Pinned] This is the way...to check your decisions ]. March 14, 2020 . MIT Admissions . March 10, 2020 . en-US.
  29. Web site: Princeton Pi Day & Einstein Birthday Party . February 9, 2019 . Princeton Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau.
  30. Matt Parker . 13 March 2024 . The biggest hand calculation in a century! [Pi Day 2024] ]. video . 1 July 2024 . YouTube . London.
  31. New Names of Minor Planets . . WGSBN Bulletin . 4 . 11 . 15 August 2024 . 15 August 2024 . Matthew Thomas Parker (b. 1980) is an Australian recreational mathematician, author, and science communicator based in the United Kingdom. His “Stand-up Maths” YouTube channel has gained more than one million subscribers. Parker's Pi Day (March 14) challenges, where he calculates (by hand) π with the help of volunteers, have popularized mathematics..
  32. News: Pi Day: Help yourself to a slice of infinite, transcendental pi . Matt . Parker . 14 March 2011 . 1 July 2024 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20231019161621/https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2011/mar/14/pi-day . 19 October 2023 . live.
  33. Web site: Pi Approximation Day is celebrated today . https://web.archive.org/web/20101201010400/http://www.thinkfinity.org/2010-07-22_pi-approximation-day . December 1, 2010 . January 30, 2011 . Today in History . Verizon Foundation.
  34. Web site: Tau Day: Why you should eat twice the pie . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130112211136/http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/28/tau-day-why-you-should-eat-twice-the-pie/ . January 12, 2013.
  35. News: March 13, 2018 . It's Pi Day today. But these people say we should refuse to celebrate it . en-GB . The Independent . live . subscription . March 14, 2018 . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/pi-day-march-14-maths-google-doodle-pie-baking-celebrate-30-anniversary-a8254036.html . May 26, 2022.
  36. News: March 14, 2013 . Pi Day Turns 25: Why We Celebrate an Irrational Number . https://web.archive.org/web/20130314185319/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/03/031314-pi-day-exploratorium-mathematics-pie-science/ . dead . March 14, 2013 . March 14, 2018.
  37. Web site: BMJ . June 22, 2018 . Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word ... The Days of Pi . May 2, 2023 . The BMJ . en-US.
  38. Book: Bartholomew, Randyn Charles . Why Tau Trumps Pi . en.
  39. News: Landau . Elizabeth . In case Pi Day wasn't enough, it's now 'Tau Day' on the Internet . en . CNN .
  40. Web site: Tau Day – Come Eat Twice the (Pi)e . en.
  41. Web site: Pi Day – Fun Holiday . March 13, 2022 . Timeanddate.com.

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