Tau as the real circle constant

This is it, folks! It’s the first anniversary of Tau Day, the “time to celebrate and rejoice in all things mathematical and true.” Every year, geeks, nerds, and pie pi lovers celebrate Pi Day on March 14. Year in and year out, students learn the value of pi – both in theoretical and practical aspects. 3.1416… – who is not familiar with the number?

Behind the scenes, however, there is another number that we must pay attention to. Earlier this year, I discovered the Tau Manifesto, courtesy of math goddess (I’ve taken the liberty to call her this) Vi Hart. She made a video explaining why Pi is wrong. Why it makes things so confusing. Why we need to have another number that is more reflective of reality. Facts and very convincing arguments aside, the video is wonderfully made, and you just can’t help but get enthralled by that pie! Here, watch it for yourself.

As I have said before, I don’t think that π is wrong – not at all! But I do subscribe to the idea that τ (tau) just might be a better number. In fact, the proponents of Tau Day clarify that π is not factually incorrect, only that it “is a confusing and unnatural choice for the circle constant.”

The argument of Michael Hartl of the Tau Manifesto fame can be summed up as:

• The constant π is the ratio of a circle’s circumference (C) to its diameter (D).  Anyone who has had even the most basic of math classes would know that the diameter is 2π; therefore π = C/D.
• The true circle constant is the ratio of a circle’s circumference (C) to its radius (R).  This constant is τ (tau) and it is equal to 2π!

Indeed, if you think about it the removal of the multiplier to define the circle constant makes things simpler. Now there is deeper math that surrounds all this – math geeks can read the manifesto in the link above.

What remains to be done now is to celebrate Tau Day, since it is June 28. So how can one celebrate Tau Day? If you’re in the vicinity of Caltech in Pasadena, head on over there at around 8 in the evening for a solid evening of everything tau. If that is not your thing, or logistics simply do not allow it, then I suggest baking/buying two of your favorite pies and enjoying them this evening. After all, τ=2π. Now I’m starting to really like this constant!

How about you? Are you willing to trade in Pi Day for Tau Day?

Hey, it’s time for another holiday!  I woke up this morning to my Facebook feed cluttered with people greeting each other “Happy World Statistics Day!”  To be honest with you, I would rather NOT celebrate this holiday.  I will never claim to be good at math (friends will attest to that) but I can hold my own (my university grades will at least back me up).  When it comes to statistics, however, I was – and am – a total failure.  Still, just because I don’t like a subject, it doesn’t mean we can’t feature it here on ForeverGeek, right?  After all, I am sure that there are many stat geeks out there who would love nothing more but to celebrate their favorite branch of mathematics.So it’s 20.10.2010 and it’s World Statistics Day. What’s the point? (A part of my brain says: does there have to be a point?) Here’s what the holiday is for:

The celebration of the World Statistics Day will acknowledge the service provided by the global statistical system at national and international level, and hope to help strengthen the awareness and trust of the public in official statistics. It serves as an advocacy tool to further support the work of statisticians across different settings, cultures, and domains.

I may not have the aptitude or patience for the math, but I certainly can appreciate the results that brilliant statisticians come up with!

There are events being held all over the world, and you can look for more information from events page of the WSD web site.  In any case, if you are hankering for some numbers, check out these infographics – definitely something worth looking at on World Statistics Day, don’t you think?

It seems that countless other people have found a better use for Venn diagrams – to make your work day more bearable. Take that diagram up there (via Next Round). It’s been making the rounds for some time now and I am not certain that it’s accurate, but it sure will take your mind off whatever’s bothering you! At the very least, you’ll be assessing your social aptitude (or ineptitude), obsessive tendencies, and intelligence. And, if you take any of that stuff seriously, then you really do deserve to be called one of those labels!

Here’s one from Despairwear.  You can actually get a shirt with this design if you feel like it.
I don’t use MySpace all that much – except to check out new music – so I don’t get why it excludes stalking.  And, do stalkers really use Twitter that much?

No one can deny that Scarlett Johansson is hot. This Venn diagram sums it all up.

So that men won’t feel left out (as subjects of these diagrams), here’s one of Vin Diesel.
I have to strongly disagree with the tag “shitty movies” though. Yeah, his movies may not be Oscar-worthy, but they are not all shitty! How can that specimen ever produce anything shitty? Tell me! (Could use some support here.)

Are Venn diagrams useful or what?  My math professor in university would be raising his bushy eyebrows if he were to read this…

Today, though, I thoroughly enjoyed viewing some images about math that a colleague posted on her Facebook account. Ironically, this colleague is an English teacher by profession.

Here’s the first one. I suppose it was a question for a science exam, but hey, the kid knows his math, doesn’t he?

He had enough presence of mind to realize that his numbers were all wrong!

The second one’s a bit more complicated. You know how we are always asked to find the value of a number? Well, this kid found x without much effort!

What was the teacher thinking, indeed? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (who, I assume is an expert in all the branches of math) to see that x is sitting right there!

Here is my favorite. No, it’s not because this problem requires a little more in terms of math skills. It’s probably because whoever answered this problem is the epitome of a very creative child.

It’s not that he (or she) didn’t try to figure out the solution. You can see the beginnings of a solution there…the kid tried. He really did. Unfortunately, there was an elephant in the way. And, we all know that the object is no match for the elephant. None at all.

Enter the Pizza Pi Plate (get it?).

The heavy stoneware plate is great for making your own stonebaked pizzas and is 15″ in diameter so there’ll be plenty to share.

In case you needed to know, there are no mistakes on the plate. Pi to 88 digits is 3.1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 86280348

Now go eat pizza. $49.95 from What On Earth

Well, they were boring and not necessarily the best way for kids to learn. Thing is, multiplication is pretty useful, even if these exercises did only go up to 12 (what’s that all about? Did teachers have a fear of the number 13… oh hang on…)

Anyway, a British inventor has come up with The Maths Wrap that is designed to turn multiplication exercises into a physical game. It doesn’t need batteries – in fact in its simplest form it’s just a board with some notches cut top and bottom and a piece of string.

Kids insert a card for whichever times table they are trying to learn. At the top is a row of numbers to multiply by, from one to 12, and at the bottom are the answers. The aim is to connect the numbers on the top with the correct answers on the bottom by passing the string through the notches. When done, the device is flipped over, and if the strings match up with the lines printed on the back, the kid got his sums right.

There’s also a deluxe edition that includes cards for fractions, decimals, percentages,
addition and subtraction, though as far as I know there’s no binary, hexadecimal or octal editions yet. Still, I guess you could make your own cards.

Now… “once twelve is twelve, two twelves are twenty-four, three twelves and thirty-six, four…”

While I’m doing that, why don’t you watch a video demo of it:

MatshWrap.co.uk