It’s time to be irrational and celebrate π (Pi) Day!
Will you slice up this quiz and get 5/5 or are you going to eat humble pie?
#1. Why is March 14th celebrated as Pi Day?
Pi Day is 14 March, because the first three digits of pi are 3.14. It’s also Einstein’s birthday!
#2. If you have a one-metre-tall wheel and you roll it one full rotation, how far does it travel?
The wheel would roll exactly π metres, which is about 3.1.
#3. Who, in 1706, first gave the Greek letter π its current mathematical definition?
British mathematician William Jones used the symbol π to represent the number 3.14159… in 1706. It was later popularized by Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler.
#4. True or false? Geeks invented a dialect known as Pilish, in which the numbers of letters in consecutive words match the digits of π.
True. Pilish was invented in the early 1900s as a way to remember the digits of π.
#5. Which pie filling is a member of the rose family?
All of these fruits are members of the Rosaceae family.
Results
Congratulations! You are a real science whiz!
Oh dear! Better brush up before the next quiz!
3 responses
4. Isn’t a dialectic a recognised language used for communication (spoken and written) within a relatively small group of people? Isn’t Pilish more like a fun written mnemonic to remember the order of the digits of Pi? Surely that doesn’t make Pilish a ‘dialect’? Anyway, I would have used the word ‘mnemonic’ in place of ‘dialect’.
Hi Glenn,
Yeah, it’s probably a stretch to call it a dialect. Although, it is only used among a small group of people (pi obsessed nerds) so it’s not completely out of the ballpark.
I reckon the correct term is constrained writing. I doubt people are writing in pilish to try and remember the digits – it’s more of a game than that.
Yes, good point David. Thnx
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