• Drifting •

[Dan Grossman]

Oh, I am used to 3.14. Works fine for me and then you have to divide if you need just one with your system. I do not see why it would make it easier really, 2x3.14 is almost automatic 6.28 in one thought without trying really, unless you are not used to doing this in your head.

We had to learn multiplying all in the head, for years we did that, it sure is helpful if you can do that. An automatic set of numbers built into your brain

Pi isn't 3.14, so memorizing 6.28 doesn't make working with equations any easier. You're generally not going to want to convert it to a rounded number until the very end of whatever you're doing if at all.

If pi were double what it is... a quadrant of a circle would be a quarter pi radians, a third of a circle a third pi radians... wouldn't that make so much more sense when teaching the meaning of pi and the unit circle to kids???

Just look at all the important series and formulas of math and physics... fourier series, gaussian normal distribution, ampere's law, coulomb's constant, planck's constant, the sum of the exterior angles of all polygons, the periods of sin and cos... look at all those extra 2's to make up for a bad definition of pi! So much work and learning would be simplified if the extra coefficient were gone.

[Shaun(OfTheDead)]

Pi isn't 3.14, so memorizing 6.28 doesn't make working with equations any easier. You're generally not going to want to convert it to a rounded number until the very end of whatever you're doing if at all.

If pi were double what it is... a quadrant of a circle would be a quarter pi radians, a third of a circle a third pi radians... wouldn't that make so much more sense when teaching the meaning of pi and the unit circle to kids???

Just look at all the important series and formulas of math and physics... fourier series, gaussian normal distribution, ampere's law, coulomb's constant, planck's constant, the sum of the exterior angles of all polygons, the periods of sin and cos... look at all those extra 2's to make up for a bad definition of pi! So much work and learning would be simplified if the extra coefficient were gone.

I like ice cream.

[Datura]

Pi isn't 3.14, so memorizing 6.28 doesn't make working with equations any easier. You're generally not going to want to convert it to a rounded number until the very end of whatever you're doing if at all.

If pi were double what it is... a quadrant of a circle would be a quarter pi radians, a third of a circle a third pi radians... wouldn't that make so much more sense when teaching the meaning of pi and the unit circle to kids???

Just look at all the important series and formulas of math and physics... fourier series, gaussian normal distribution, ampere's law, coulomb's constant, planck's constant, the sum of the exterior angles of all polygons, the periods of sin and cos... look at all those extra 2's to make up for a bad definition of pi! So much work and learning would be simplified if the extra coefficient were gone.

Yeah, I know pi is 3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 41971 69399 37510...(truncated), usually used with about 10 decimal places for the purposes it is used most for. I have read somewhere that the number has never been fully completed, even with the help of computers (amazing), and yes, you do not round it up before you are finished. But that is just what it is

Make a square out of a circle

Your theory is interesting. I know too little about it to talk intelligently about it, just learned the basics back in the days when I needed to work with this

[Datura]

I like ice cream.

Which flavor?

[php_daemon]

Uhm, I'm sure it'd be taken into account if someone was to rewrite the fundamentals. Maybe.

I've read somewhere that there's a lab in Japan devoted to calculation of pi. They've discovered a trillion of digits or something of that scale so far.

[php_daemon]

Oh and, Ulrike, do you actually remember all those digits you said?

[Datura]

Oh and, Ulrike, do you actually remember all those digits you said?

No, not that good of a memory, but pretty good.

I have a strange thing though. I am a dyslexic, have sometimes a lot of difficulties with things that get twisted around, tumble into an odd pile. My husband sometimes uses this to confuse the heck out of me and we get a good laugh.

But back to the pi thing. The basic usage that I had to utilize this thing for was in mechanical engineering. We used most of the time just 3.14159 for all our calculations. That was exact enough then for the purpose.

[akritic]

Pi isn't 3.14, so memorizing 6.28 doesn't make working with equations any easier. You're generally not going to want to convert it to a rounded number until the very end of whatever you're doing if at all.

If pi were double what it is... a quadrant of a circle would be a quarter pi radians, a third of a circle a third pi radians... wouldn't that make so much more sense when teaching the meaning of pi and the unit circle to kids???

Just look at all the important series and formulas of math and physics... fourier series, gaussian normal distribution, ampere's law, coulomb's constant, planck's constant, the sum of the exterior angles of all polygons, the periods of sin and cos... look at all those extra 2's to make up for a bad definition of pi! So much work and learning would be simplified if the extra coefficient were gone.

[mobyme]

I wonder why pi is 3.14... instead of 6.28... so many equations with 2pi in them would be simplified, and I think learning trig would actually be easier.

This place is getting spookier and spookier. I have often had the self same thought myself and once asked my daughters tutor why it wasn't so. He said that it would complicate things and when I asked; how? He got all upset and said that he had no intention of discussing it as far greater minds than mine had settled on 3.14. I just laughed and taught my kids to use 6.28 anyway.

[php_daemon]

One might prove this or other way is better, but it is how it is. When people started using it (I think there's not even a definite answer who and when), there were no theories based on it and there was no way to see that 2*pi would be more convinient hundreds (thousands?) of years later. So we use what we have.

[enam]

I wonder why pi is 3.14... instead of 6.28... so many equations with 2pi in them would be simplified, and I think learning trig would actually be easier.

Who first defined PI? How many years ago?

Why he named it as PI?

[Datura]

Who first defined PI? How many years ago?

Why he named it as PI?

Google is your friend

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi

[akritic]

Google is everyone's friend The question is, will they turn into the Evil Empire? (Star-Wars, not MS, !)

[php_daemon]

Yes, they will.

[Datura]

Yes, they will.

Yes they are

[akritic]

Will they induce the most up-to-date global surveillance utilising satellites and google earth combined? Do you think?

[Datura]

Oh, they will, until they get so bloated that a slim new guy can step in

Has always happened with companies. But this is a new sort of environment, things might develop differently.

[akritic]

Oh, they will, until they get so bloated that a slim new guy can step in

Has always happened with companies. But this is a new sort of environment, things might develop differently.

Perhaps they will, but if they have any balls then they will not make it exclusive to goverments only.. The way I see it is that no one has anything to worry about if the survelance is benelovant. How cool would it be to zoom into google earth and watch real-time the traffic in cities and freeways? Still there are larger issues surrounding this idea, which come under further-reaching laws of privacy. The question is, can independent companies (such as google) avert and save the world from over-controling goverments, who in any situation always attempt to make the most of new technology/possibilities?

[Datura]

Perhaps they will, but if they have any balls then they will not make it exclusive to goverments only.. The way I see it is that no one has anything to worry about if the survelance is benelovant. How cool would it be to zoom into google earth and watch real-time the traffic in cities and freeways? Still there are larger issues surrounding this idea, which come under further-reaching laws of privacy. The question is, can independent companies (such as google) avert and save the world from over-controling goverments, who in any situation always attempt to make the most of new technology/possibilities?

I think technology such as that will inevitably be used by governments. There is always a way under some pretense for gov to get their hands on stuff like that. They declare some emergency and they confiscate it. I do not trust any government, benevolence goes only so far with these guys. So it is. Or some guy can make some huge amount of money selling it to some government, ideals go only so far with many people.

I am actually surprised how little control the gov has implemented so far. I guess the bureaucratic machine is too slow to catch up with development right now. For how long?

[akritic]

I think that the goverments probably do have just such technology (only as good as the weather of course ) but Google earth is years behind this implementation in many respects. It could get a whole lot better though, which is the interesting part.

If you mean gov. control over the internet, then I am glad of their un-wakefulness. Any future of the internet controled by goverment is a dealthly thing, only trusted peer-reviewed internet operators should decide what should and should not appear on the web.. consider truly aweful things that can be available on the web, and consider a body set up to ensure all un-humane things are removed. There is a thin line..

[Dan Schulz]

Two words Andy: "National Security"

[Datura]

In my mind nothing should be controlled, the market (and the net is a market), should be open to any person or group to say what they want to say. The control should come through boycott only, that includes a rejection of clients to host certain things. But there will always be these people who are too lazy to make these kinds of decisions for themselves, they want other people to take care of the *undesired* and create laws to forbid it. Same old same old.

So far the net is still pretty free in most countries, hopefully it will stay that way, but I have serious doubts about it.

[Datura]

Hey guys, join in the fun to create some Monsters

[mizwizzy]

[Datura]

sunshine from Ireland