Perhaps no other mathematical constant has captured the human imagination like Pi (Greek letter “π”). Therefore, it is only appropriate that pi has a day of its own that resembles its first three digits (3.14 as in 3/14 or March 14) and is celebrated by math enthusiasts and education institutions around the world.
“Pi Day” is celebrated on March 14 (which was chosen because it resembles 3.14). The official celebration begins at 1:59 pm, to make an appropriate 3.14159 when combined with the date.
The enigma in pi lies in the fact that despite being calculated to over one trillion digits beyond decimal point, the irrational and transcendental pattern continues infinitely and without repetition.
Owing to the difficult nature of memorizing the infinite and abstract sequence of numbers that pi comprises of, the hobby of “pi-philology” exists among math enthusiasts who attempt to recall as many decimal places of the number as they can without faltering as a tribute to the phenomenon that is Pi.
The pi day celebration originated in 1988 at the San Francisco Exploratorium, where staff and public marched around one of its circular spaces and then consumed fruit pies.
Over the years, mathematicians and physicists used their creative minds to invent ingenious methods of celebrating this auspicious day. This ranged from discussing the relevance of pi, pi recitations, memorization of pi sequence, with the world record belonging to Lu Chao from China for recalling the first 67,890 numbers; Einstein look-alike contests, given that pi Day is also the genius’s birthday; the pie-eating contest (of course!), and other math related activities.
A MAGICAL NUMBER
The fascination with pi is related to its truly divine notions that are simple yet impossible to grasp in their totality.
Among many dimensions of pi that have fascinated academics and scholars, one that stands out the most, is how brilliantly it captures the ratio of any circle’s circumference to its diameter.
In fact, the letter π is the first letter of the Greek words for “periphery” and “perimeter.”
Mathematicians have often grappled with how the circle, so beautiful and elegant in shape, can boast of a proportion so daunting and indecipherable in nature.
Fascination with pi has transcended beyond the academic fraternity and reached the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. When filmmakers want to evoke a sense of mystery and suspense in movies, they often use the symbol pi.
The usefulness of pi is beyond imagination. The creation of architectural wonders like bridges, under-water tunnels, flyovers, underpasses, or skyscrapers relied heavily on pi in their design and feasibility studies. In other words, designing any structure with circular, cylindrical and conical components require the application of the constant.
The sequence of pi follows an undefined pattern and is neither geometric nor arithmetic progression. The abstract nature of the infinite sequence has caused much fanfare among scientists with countless well regarded and historic personalities such as Sir Isaac Newton along with modern day mathematicians, with Fields Medal credentials, trying in vain to establish a formula that can accurately capture the essence of pi.
The creation of architectural wonders like bridges, under-water tunnels, flyovers, underpasses, or skyscrapers relied heavily on pi in their design and feasibility studies
The age-old obsession related to deciphering the mystery behind pi can best be illustrated by how rigorously its value was calculated by one of the greatest mathematicians of the ancient world, Archimedes (287-212 BC).
He was so engrossed in his work that he did not notice that Roman soldiers had taken the Greek city of Syracuse.
When a Roman soldier approached him, he yelled in Greek: “Do not touch my circles!” The Roman soldier proceeded to kill him by beheading and thus Archimedes became the first and perhaps only martyr of pi in world history!
You may think that all this fuss about pi is crazy or madness. But as Jean-Jacques Rousseau once remarked, “to be sane in a world of madmen is in itself madness.”
Perhaps through the exercise of trying to capture the transcendental and articulating the abstract in tangible terms, we can truly break free of the bias of preconceived notions and venture deep into the darkness that is discovery, invention, and innovation.
THE 3.14 APPROACH
At pi Strategy, we develop strategies and business models for our clients by following a unique approach inspired by this special number. The 3.14 approach includes the three competencies of our firm, which converge on one focused mandate through its four practice areas.
The three core competencies are: Innovation, strategy and user centred design. Innovation is at the heart of what we specialize in, with a particular focus on impact and creative solutions. Our work is always founded on facts and insights generated through rigorous research and analysis.
The mandate is creating social value. We are a firm that takes solving social problems quite seriously. Each and every client engagement we are involved with has to have a direct link to creating social value, especially for the less advantaged base of the pyramid population among us.
We have assisted clients expand mobile financial services to the unbanked. We have assisted clients design health insurance products for people who make less than two dollars a day. We have also turned down engagements where the link to social value creation was unclear.
And finally, the four practice areas are: Defining growth strategies, developing business models, generating client insights, and designing prototypes and pilots.
Just as the value of pi gives us an infinite sequence of numbers after the decimal, the possibilities for innovation and creation are also endless.
We believe “strategy” is more of a journey than a destination. And that is most acutely felt in today’s globalized world where rapid technological, cultural, and economic changes can make entire industries obsolete in a matter of years. Thus, strategy is as much about what paths not to follow, as it is about what paths to explore.
Ashfaque Kabir and Anik M Chowdhury are π enthusiasts working at pi STRATEGY
This article was written in 2018.
pi STRATEGY 