Pi Day Opinion
In my quest to learn more about pi today I came across this opinion that π is wrong, the number should be 2π. The guy makes many good and obviously educated points but in my opinion, is wrong. π is fine the way it is.
Why?
Well I'm glad you asked!
The reason is simple. π is fine the way it is because of the relationship between the diameter and circumference of a circle. A circle with a diameter of 1 has a circumference of π.
Why diameter and not radius? Because diameter is a lot easier to measure. It is as simple as that. I bet that 90% of the use of π is in the formula c=πd. Sure when you get into science and engineering 2π make more sense, but if anyone can handle multiplying π time two, it would be the people in those fields. Plus, if you look at 99.9% of the equations that 2π would simplify, the 2 is the least of the things making the equation complex.
My truck has tires that are 31 inches in diameter. How far does it go with one rotation? 31π inches. Simple.
2 comments:
Hey very cool post. I had no idea that some people thought about possibly re-defining PI as 2PI.
I think his article title would be more accurate if he said, "Pi is defined wrong!"....although not as catchy. Which is funny since one reason he's advocating a new (hypothetical) definition is because it's more intuitive, but his title, if stood alone, would maybe suggest an error in PI's numerical value.
I personally hate using diameter for anything, but I probably am in the minority. Almost everything circular is specified/described by diameter (as far as I know).
Oops, it's Alex.
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