How do you celebrate Pi Day? DSU Mathematician explains why the number should be celebrated
SALISBURY, Md. – Pi is everywhere. Not the dessert, but the number.
Delaware State University mathematician, Dr. Dawn A. Lott, said the number is fundamental to mathematicians around the world.
“Pi day is so important to mathematicians because Pi is like an alphabet letter for us,” Dr. Lott said.
Before there was Dr. Lott, there was Archimedes of Syracuse, the first mathematician to produce a calculation for Pi. Dr. Lott said it was his findings that made calculating the diameter of a circle possible and is worth celebrating on the 14th of every March.
“Who would’ve ever thought that they would look at a circle and say it does not matter what the size of the circle, the ratio of the circumference of the circle to the diameter of the circle will always be the number Pi,” Dr. Lott said.
The baked version of pie can come in different flavors, but the number can be seen differently, too. Dr. Lott said you can elongate or shorten the number to solve equations.
“Most people use 3.14. I tend to use ten digits, which is 3.14159265358,” Dr. Lott said. “Other people use 22/7, but most students will use 3.14, because that is what their teachers instructed them to use.”
The number contains trillions of digits, but just how many do you remember? 47abc stopped by the Salisbury Park to quiz some viewers.
“I know a little about Pi through math in high school, but right now, I’m more familiar with sweet potato and apple,” said Jerron Collier.
And some were a little more familiar with the number than others.
“It’s 3.1415926535, that’s all I know up to, but it goes forever,” said Adrianne Smith.
Regardless of if you can recite three digits or 300, Dr. Lott said at the center of it all, it’s important to at least recognize that Pi is represented everywhere, in the world around us.
“For somebody today, on Pi Day, I want you to look at the world, and I want you to embrace the fact that Pi is everywhere,” Dr. Lott said. “Even if you don’t see it, it can somehow be factored into the many things that are going on today.”
