Monday, June 28, 2021

Keep Your Hands Off My Pi! - 28 June 2021 - Plague Journal Day 473

Micah 6:8
Job 26:6-14
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today, 28 June (in normal US format 6-28) is Tau Day. eta beta pi

In 2001, Bob Palais published π Is Wrong, where he said pi (π) should not be used for the circle constant—the geometry of a circle expressed in a single number. Instead, he called for tau (τ), which is equal to 2π, or roughly 6.28318, to be used instead. Then, on June 28, 2010, Michael Hartl published the Tau Manifesto, which stood behind Palais and expanded on his ideas. Like Palais, he called for tau to replace pi, saying pi is a "confusing and unnatural choice for the circle constant." He believed tau is a better way to describe the relationship between the circumference and the radius of a circle. With the release of his manifesto, he also created Tau Day. Just as 3/14 is Pi Day, 6/28 became Tau Day.
It is claimed that, for some unfathomable reason, a growing number of mathematicians and physicists agree tau should replace pi, although they also admit that this is not yet widely accepted.

If tau makes so much more sense, why hasn't it been widely accepted? I'll tell you why. Because it doesn't make more sense - they're just plain wrong. Looking only at the circumference (perimeter) of the circle and the diameter might, just might, make one think tau made sense. However, when one looks to the area of a circle, tau is much more cumbersome than pi. The circumference is 2πR, the area is πR² - using τ instead says the circumference is τR, but the area is now (τR²)/2.Why would anyone want to move to that?

Further, there's the wondrous and amazing Euler Identity bringing two irrational numbers (e and π) and the basis of the imaginary numbers (i) together in a beautiful equation. Just look at this beautiful derivation and tell me that tau is a valid replacement for pi. Not in this man's mathematics, pal!



Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

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