Viewing Thread:
"I know Pi to 10 decimal places..."

[URL]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4644103.stm[/URL]

This guy knows it to 83,431 decimal places!

Hmmmmm, I can think of a few more productive things to do with my life other than try to beat him...

hippyman wrote:
> You can calculate Pi by getting a whole load of random number between
> 0 and 1. Then take these values away from 1 (i.e. 1-x). Then
> integrate it.

If x is taken as a variable we have x - x^2 (+ c), but what are the limits of integration? If x is just a load of random numbers, considered constant in each iteration, then that's just (1-x)y + c integrating with respect to a variable y, again requiring some limits of integration, removing the need for the constant c. In the second case, y would have to be bigger than 4, so perhaps limits 0 to 4? Still seems a little thin.

Do you have any more details or know of a website where this is done? Also, out of curiosity, which university was it?

You can calculate Pi by getting a whole load of random number between 0 and 1. Then take these values away from 1 (i.e. 1-x). Then integrate it. Then square root it. The you have pi/4. Multiply it by 4 and you should get Pi. You should have like 100,000 random numbers to do this with and then average them. Very sad, I know, but I learnt it at this maths Uni day last month.

Emitime wrote:
> Area divided by radius.

Nada, area divided by radius squared, or circumference divided by diameter.

Also, on a totally not sad note, if you can remember pi to 100 decimal places, then you can apply to join a "special" club.

thenamechanger wrote:
> " I'm stuck in the woods and I need to work out where to find
> civilization, good thing I know Pi to 23 places "

Yeah, not really going to help him, is it?

I'm not contesting the point, just stating something pertinent is all.

Which is all you will ever need, is practical, or that you will desire for.

" I'm stuck in the woods and I need to work out where to find civilization, good thing I know Pi to 23 places "

It's not practical, worth knowing or ever really going to be any use to you

thenamechanger wrote:
> That's why calculators were invented

Obviously it depends, but generally calculator's only give it to about 10 places.

There's a boy on our bus who seems to think knowing Pi to 23 decimal places is a good party trick and socially acceptable, he's wrong, very wrong

That's why calculators were invented

Emitime wrote:
> Area divided by radius.

Ah.

It's odd how, despite the fact that you start regularly using Pi in maths from about Yr. 7 onwards and need to memorise around 5 or 6 equations which contain it for your GCSE's, you never actually get told what it is.

Area divided by radius.