Pi Day Was a Much Bigger Deal in 2015 and 2016 – VIDEO
As I was wandering around the weird part of YouTube Sunday night, I was reminded that Tuesday, March 14 is "Pi Day" - 3.14. It's one of those irrational (see what I did there?) holidays like May the Fourth (Star Wars Day) or International Talk Like a Pirate Day (I have no clue why that's on September 19) that exist solely for fun.
While chasing this rabbit down the hole, I found an interesting rant from YouTube user Vi Hart from March 14, 2016. With much artistic flare, she explains why people made such a huge deal out of Pi Day in 2015 (3.1415...), and why she feels Pi Day 2016 should have been a lesson to people about why it may be time to stop putting π on a pedestal.
Sure it's silly, but it's also thought provoking. How many sacred cows do we cling to in our lives because we can't just let go? As Vi Hart briefly mentions in her video, tau (τ) may be a more accurate and elegant way of expressing the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. I had no idea what tau was until I saw the video and did a little Googling. Okay, I still don't understand it (I was never great with mathematics), but the idea that pi had competition at all was eye opening and a reminder that letting go sometimes and keeping an open mind can reveal a world of exciting and challenging ideas.
Check out the video below, then check out another YouTube user's hilarious and equally thought provoking explanation and defense of pi below that.