It is reported that the daughter of our own Scott Corey can recite the first 50 digits of Pi. I imagine at least some of those digits have rubbed off on Scott. So, if you talk to him today, be sure to ask for a little recitation.

3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 41971 69399 37510

Geeks and Greeks rejoice – March 14th is Pi Day (3.14) – a day to celebrate the mathematical constant that seems to find it’s way into all things geometric.  Pi is the relationship of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, and mathematicians the world over have spent careers studying its value.  Pi is both irrational and transcendental; meaning that no fraction, series, or other finite mathematical expression can express its value exactly.  Here are some interesting facts about Pi’s mathematical history:

• Modern supercomputers have been able to calculate the quadrillionth bit of Pi, which happens to be 0. (Quadrillion is 1,000,000,000,000,000)
• Pi has been studied so much in mathematics that it has three distinct ages of history, briefly summarized as Geometric, Calculus, and Modern Computers.
• The world record for reciting digits of Pi is 100,000 digits.

If you’re so inclined, you can learn a bit more about Pi (the constant), rent a copy of Pi (the movie), read Life of Pi (the book), or even eat an Apple Pie (the food).

3.14159265358979323846…

Thanks to Wikipedia.org for facts on Pi. Apple pie photo credit: Linda DuBose