From The New York Times opinion page, this afternoon, then:
. . . .Early mathematicians realized pi’s usefulness in calculating areas, which is why they spent so much effort trying to dig its digits out. Archimedes used 96-sided polygons to painstakingly approximate the circle and showed that pi lay between 223/71 and 22/7. By the time Madhava (in India, around 1400) calculated pi to over 10 decimal places using his groundbreaking infinite series (which regrettably bears Leibniz’s name), it was already more than accurate enough to address all practical applications. Pursuing pi further had essentially become a mathematical challenge. . . .
I just had a big slice of warm pecan pie, literally swimming in dollops of whipped cream. . . so my celebration and observance is. . . complete! Have you. . . had yours?
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