Every year on March 14, the International Day of Mathematics, also known as Pi Day, is observed to honour the mathematical constant Pi, which expresses the proportion of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Pi has a value of 3.14.
The recognition and appreciation of mathematics’ significance in our daily lives is a cause for celebration among mathematicians all across the world. To encourage mathematics education and awareness, the day is observed by many schools, universities, and mathematics organizations around the world.
2023 International Day of Mathematics
The value of Pi is represented on March 14 for those who use the month/date format (3.14). The date of March 14 was chosen because March is the third month of the year, and the number 14 comes after.
Theme:
According to the celebration’s official website, the topic for Pi Day 2023 is “Mathematics for Everyone,” which was suggested by Marco Zarco Rotairo of Trece Martires City National High School in the Philippines.
History:
American physicist Larry Shaw commemorated the occasion in 1988 by organising a huge celebration at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. In the first celebration, a pie was cut out in the shape of pi, and the number pi was recited to all possible decimal places.
The original calculation of Pi’s value is attributed to Syracuse mathematician Archimedes. The scientific world eventually accepted the sign of Pi, which was first used by Leonhard Euler in 1737.
Pi Day will be recognised as International Mathematics Day in 2019 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at its 40th General Conference.
Significance:
Since pi is an illogical and transcendental number, its decimal representation is infinite and never ends. We are unable to determine a circle’s exact area or circumference because its exact value is unknown.
People in Egypt thought that pi was the basis for the construction of the Giza pyramids. The pyramid’s height to the circumference of its base is proportional to a circle’s radius to its circumference.
The purpose of the holiday is to recognize and celebrate the value of mathematics in our daily lives. Pi is a fundamental constant that is important for calculations, and scientists have studied and employed mathematics.
Also, Albert Einstein’s birth anniversary falls on this day. On this date in 2018, the eminent theoretical scientist Stephen Hawking passed away.
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