“I know it will be called blasphemy by some, but I believe that π is wrong.” With this bold opening statement in a 2001 Mathematical Intelligencer article, mathematician Robert Palais launched a debate that continues to this day.
For many, an attack on pi is tantamount to an attack on all of mathematics! Hardly any other symbol is so strongly associated with the subject. Songs, poems, books and films have been dedicated to pi. The date of the International Day of Mathematics, March 14, is based on the first digits of pi. It is all the more astonishing, then, that Palais has won over quite a few supporters.
Anyone who thinks this is a circle of people who despise mathematics is completely wrong. On the contrary, their passion for the subject drives them to such disruption.
To make one thing clear from the outset: no one in this debate doubts the correct calculation of pi. But Palais argues that it was wrong to choose the value 3.14159... as the fundamental constant of a circle. He believes it would be much more appropriate to use twice that value, a value now known as tau (τ).
Nine years after Palais’s article was published, physicist Michael Hartl posted “The Tau Manifesto” online. In it, he elaborated on and expanded upon Palais’s arguments. “π is a confusing and unnatural choice for the circle constant,” Hartl wrote.
One reason tau is superior to pi:
In mathematics, the radius, not the diameter, is what defines a circle. Therefore, the mathematical constant pi should be defined in terms of its radius, and tau allows you to quickly do that. With it, the circumference of a circle is calculated as: C = τ × r.
One reason pi is superior to tau:
Thousands of years ago, the mathematical constant pi was defined as the ratio of circumference to diameter. One reason for this is that the diameter of a circle is much easier to determine than its radius. Therefore, the formula C = 2πr must be retained.
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