Connecting with pi
March 14, 2024
Today is March 14, Pi Day, an excuse to reflect on that irrational number we use to represent how many times the distance across a circle can wrap around the outside of that same circle. It turns out to be a little more than three. As Archimedes knew in 250 B.C.E. (and the Babylonians and Egyptians before him), it’s approximately 3.14.
Counting this day as celebratory does raise some questions. What is Pi Day? What’s there to reflect on? And why isn’t the mathematician in the CAS office writing this blog?
We credit William Jones in 1706 with first using π to describe the ratio, but it was a physicist in 1988 who suggested celebrating pi on 3/14. Teachers around the world immediately saw the value in enshrining the day formally.
Why pi is worth reflecting on is a little more challenging to answer. Here at Xavier, we are familiar with reflection. Ignatius Loyola laid out some very specific practices that are tied to big questions, including humanity’s relationship to the divine. Reflecting on pi, however, can look very different. Pi’s contemplative work involves looking down rather than up—allowing oneself to revel in the elegance of increasingly minute details. Pi reminds us that we’re bound intimately to the beauty of the world. As Jessica Wynne argues, “pi is magic.”
Pi also reminds us that there is value in challenging our limits. Pi is not simply constant, it’s infinite. Our best computers have calculated pi to 62 trillion digits, but we never reach a tidy, final endpoint. Individuals have memorized many digits of pi (the record is held at 70,000), and the task stands out to us for the sheer absurdity of the challenge. Few scientists would ever need more than 6 or 7 digits for real-word calculations, but pi’s spiral into infinity offers a unique space for contemplation.
Many have suggested methods for memorizing the digits of pi, including this creative (but ultimately unhelpful) song. I recommend the Major System by which you can turn numbers into letters and generate a series of words. I used this to memorize 2000 digits of pi. Admittedly this is a very weird task; however, I hope it sounds less weird when I explain it’s a technique anyone can use; our brains are hard wired for words, visuals, and narratives. Over coffee, I’d be happy to explain the 20 memory palaces over which these 669 words are divided. (I don’t think I’m making my case for not sounding weird).
Finally, reflecting on pi offers us a chance to see connections across our varied disciplinary fields. Philosophers have used pi to address the limits of human knowledge. Visual artists have offered incredible visualizations of pi. Theologians have considered pi in the context of Biblical inspiration. Musicians have proposed musical interpretations.
For all these reasons, today please dig into your favorite pie, contemplate our inability to fully capture the universe, and wallow in the beauty of life’s details.
Dr. Stephen Yandell
Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Professor, English
