pi approximation day [OT]

[Dar Scott]

On Monday, July 21, 2003, at 10:51 AM, Klaus Major wrote:

> Could you please be so kind and explain this "wonder" to a person (or 
> more ;-)
> who is/are not able to start cheering right away, just becaues they 
> lack a
> deeper understanding of the glamour of maths ;-)

Maybe it takes a few beers.

** Irrational numbers can be approximated by rational numbers. **

And, of course, the appropriate response is "Well, duh!"  Yet that is 
the basis of much computation.  That is why we can do much of the math 
we do in Revolution.

Also, this allows us to order pizza.  Or pumpkin pie. Or whatever.

Now the 22X7...  Well, the formula for the area of a circle is this:

A = pi * (r^2)

A = (pi * r) * r

since (pi * r) is half the circumference C, then

A = (C/2) * r

The rectangle approximation has an area computed like that.

If we use 22/7 for pi and 7 for r, then the original formula reduces to

A = 22 * 7

Friends say, "Dar has a firm grasp on the obvious."  I take it in the 
most generous way.

Dar Scott