The mystery and beauty of pi

Charles N. Moore holding a marker and standing next to a drawing of a circle and the first few digits of the number pi.
Charles N. Moore, chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Washington State University, explores the troublesome and mysterious concept of pi.

Who better than an expert mathematician to help celebrate the fourteenth day of the third month of the year, unofficially known as Pi Day for the numeric expression it shares with the the ratio of the circumference of any circle to the diameter of that circle: 3.14.

“Any way you slice it, pi is indeed a very interesting number.”

Charles N. Moore

Professor Charles N. Moore, PhD and chair of Washington State University’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics, provides a brief overview of the scientific significance of pi in a new video being shared broadly today on WSU’s social media channels.

“Pi is both troublesome and mysterious,” Moore explains. “A circle is something very simple and beautiful, yet the number pi is not.”


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