Dear Order-Finders,

Today is pi day–3/14. Pi is the ratio between a circle’s circumference and its diameter. But it’s really a lot more than that. Throughout your math career you’ll see pi popping up all over the place-geometry, calculus, probability. It leads one to think that pi says something about the inherent order of the world.

Mathematicians keep finding the next digit of pi because it’s kind of fun. And while nobody needs to know pi past just a few decimal places, the techniques mathematicians have used to find the next digit of pi have been extremely useful. As William Blake said, “If the fool would persist in its folly it would become wise.”

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck