PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic Happy Pi Day

So you think there is no connection between Pi and music?
Think again

Pi

I think you can find a connection by circular reasoning.

For a second there I thought it was Happy St Patricks Day.

At one place I worked they had a long standing (and very serious) tradition of bringing in homemade pies on pi day. Really looked forward to when that day came a "round". Ha?

In accordance with some of what Pi Day represents, I thought I’d make a point to those that refrain from intelligently responding to posts and have little interest in thoughtful writing.

Studies suggest that cognitively stimulating activities, such as typing intelligent, witty and humorous writing (especially involving wordplay) can build cognitive reserve. This reserve helps the brain compensate for age-related decline and can help resist the effects of neurological conditions like Alzheimer's. Of course, much needed research is still ongoing and required, but a body of knowledge is slowly emerging. Use it or lose it.

It's been stated in different ways over the years on this forum that by and large, most of us here are no long “spring chickens”, to put it delicately.

I have a doctor friend and the other day he and I were discussing this subject. He made 2 points worth sharing.

First, he said that when someone is diagnosed with age-related dementia that the condition didn’t just appear that day or even that year. The decline most likely began 10 or more years ago. He also said that clever, intelligent speaking and writing should be a part of one’s “daily portfolio for cognitive resilience”.

To craft witty and clever writing demands mental dexterity, it involves playing with language, drawing on memory, imagining scenarios, and thinking outside the box; even upside down. These activities can help keep the brain active, improve focus, and build resistance against mental incapacity.

I notice, for example, that as of this writing, 36 people have viewed this very post, yet only 3 have responded (all with clever and wit). To the other 33 that didn’t/couldn’t reply, I say this: if simply viewing is your typical approach, then you are missing out on valuable opportunities to “clear out some plaque”; you’re “leaving money on the table”.

I realize that time zones may also explain some of the 33. Afterall, for our friends in Europe, it's Tuesday next week and in Australia, heck, it's some time back in February!

OK, I’m done (for now) with “Dr. Steve’s method for achieving mental sharpness well into your 90’s”.

What I really wanted to say is Pi Day is proof that math lovers can also have their irrational days . . .

It's a couple days a year ..



"There are two Pi Days. March 14th is the famous Pi Day. 3/14... 3.14... It makes perfect sense. But "Pi Approximation Day" is also a thing! It occurs on July 22, which, for some parts of the world, is written as 22/7, a fraction that is actually a closer approximation of Pi than 3.14. If we are being honest with ourselves, though, both days are approximations. All calculations of Pi are approximations."

It's a pie chart using Pi data
Did I win anything?

For those who want to explore some abstract (and inexact) science on Pi:

I gigged at a senior center yesterday (3-14) and they didn't serve any pie, they didn't even have any cake. It was a pre-St.Patricks day party (we give them a deal if they don't have the party on the date, and that turned one St.Pat party into four).

So no pie on pi but a pleasure performing for plenty of retired people at a profit.

FYI Steve, I got Pi-eyed yesterday

I was looking at a pie on our kitchen table and thought how wide is that pie? So I measured the circumference and divided it by pi. And voila pi gave me the pie width. Or something like that. 🤪

Bud

PS Oops … gotta stick to off topic protocol - I was listening to music while measuring.

Now we're talking. We jumped from a participation rate of 8.3% yesterday to 10.7% today . . . . Wooo Hoooo!
For you lurkers out there, get those neurons crackling!

Oh Pi oh Pi you are sweet music to me
Your numbers go on to infinity

You are larger than large and go on forever
Your digits ebb and flow not unlike a river

About 22 over 7 and slightly bigger than 3
In countless problems, you’ve been the key

That’s why we dance in the streets on March 14
For your incredible usefulness could never have been foreseen

--Starving Poet BassThumper

Last night, my kids were in town; we and a few friends were out to dinner. Both of my sons-in-law are mathematicians and I am no slouch. While the rest of the table were trying to figure out this and that involving Pi Day — and getting it wrong, the three of us were discussing the futility of trying to calculate anything in a restaurant. Having read The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, we understood that Bistronomics rules.

Many years ago the teacher told us the area of a circle was pi r square, but I told him all the pies I've ever seen were round.