Happy Pi Approximation Day
One of the widgets I have on my Google homepage is called “Today’s Reason to Drink.” Not that I really need a reason, but I guess it’s helpful to have one handy in case someone asks.
Today’s reason is, it’s Pi Approximation Day, 7/22. Reverse that date and you have 22/7, the closest fraction approximation to pi. Math nerds, time to hit the bar!
Back in college, we had a classmate who stayed up all night computing the closest fractional approximations to pi with 3-digit, 4-digit, 5-digit, and 6-digit numerators. No one told him to. He just did it. He proudly brought his results, consisting of a big, long printout full of numbers, to class next day and showed them to the professor, who had about the same reaction I did: “WHY????”
There are better scholarly pursuits to engage in… for example, you could buy one of our books about drinking and smarten yourself up about the world of booze.
