View Full Version : Why?
william_brasky
10/4/2006, 09:51 AM
TOKYO - A Japanese mental health counselor recited pi to 100,000 decimal places from memory on Wednesday, setting what he claims to be a new world record.
Akira Haraguchi, 60, needed more than 16 hours to recite the number to 100,000 decimal places, breaking his personal best of 83,431 digits set in 1995, his office said Wednesday. He made the attempt at a public hall in Kisarazu, just east of Tokyo.
Pi is a physical constant defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter.
It is usually written out to a maximum of three decimal places, as 3.141, in math textbooks. But the number, which has fascinated scientists for centuries, has no theoretical limit to the number of decimal places it can be written to. It is a constant that appears in the proofs of many equations defining the universe.
"What I am aiming at is not just memorizing figures, I am thrilled by seeking a story in pi," Haraguchi said.
The Guinness Book of Records currently lists Hiroyuki Goto, also from Japan, as the official record holder for reciting pi from memory. He recited the ratio out to 42,195 decimal places in 1995.
Guinness never entered Haraguchi's 1995 feat in its record book. The editors of the book could not be immediately reached for comment regarding Haraguchi's latest attempt.
Haraguchi, a psychiatric counselor and business consultant in nearby Mobara city, took a break of about 5 minutes every one to two hours, going to the rest room and eating rice balls during the attempt, said Naoki Fujii, spokesman of Haraguchi's office.
Fujii said all of Haraguchi's activities during the attempt, including his bathroom breaks, were videotaped for evidence that will later be sent for verification by the Guinness Book of Records.
Two local education officials joined 29 conference hall staff who worked in rotation to monitor Haraguchi.
Haraguchi, who began reciting pi at 9 a.m. Tuesday, reached his previous record of 83,431 digits Tuesday night, finishing exactly at 100,000 digits at 1:28 a.m. Wednesday, Fujii said.
In 2002, University of Tokyo mathematicians, aided by a supercomputer, set the world record for figuring out pi to 1.24 trillion decimal places.
mmmmmm pi
that guy has some serious disciprine.
william_brasky
10/4/2006, 09:57 AM
Maybe this is actually Takashi. He was thrilled seeking stories in pi too.
http://www.luminomagazine.com/2004.10/spotlight/nerds/images/takashi/takashi1.jpg
IB4OU2
10/4/2006, 10:09 AM
Talk about a perfect circle........jerk.
SoonerInKCMO
10/4/2006, 10:16 AM
I can only do 14 :(
Osce0la
10/4/2006, 10:20 AM
Talk about a perfect circle
I guess Maynard would be proud...
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/5669/apcslugfacestickerfe2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
KABOOKIE
10/4/2006, 11:00 AM
But the number, which has fascinated scientists for centuries, has no theoretical limit to the number of decimal places it can be written to.
In other news, Engineers determined 3.14159 works 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of the time.
BlondeSoonerGirl
10/4/2006, 11:02 AM
Haraguchi-san needs a woman.
Stat.
okienole3
10/4/2006, 11:08 AM
Haraguchi-san needs a woman.
Stat.
I think that he has had enough pi for a while.
In other news, Engineers determined 3.14159 works 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of the time.
when talking about something on the order of the size of the earth, 3.14159 gets you accurate to within about 100 meters....3.14 gets you accurate to within about 20 kilometers
when talking about something on the order of 100 meters in radius, 3.14159 gets you accurate to about 5 centimeters.
Widescreen
10/4/2006, 12:14 PM
when talking about something on the order of the size of the earth, 3.14159 gets you accurate to within about 100 meters....3.14 gets you accurate to within about 20 kilometers
when talking about something on the order of 100 meters in radius, 3.14159 gets you accurate to about 5 centimeters.
There's a weenis joke in there somewhere.
BlondeSoonerGirl
10/4/2006, 12:15 PM
There's a weenis joke in there somewhere.
I think it was the 5 centimeter part...
:mack:
Fujii said all of Haraguchi's activities during the attempt, including his bathroom breaks, were videotaped for evidence that will later be sent for verification by the Guinness Book of Records.
I'll pass on that video, no thanks.
KABOOKIE
10/4/2006, 12:27 PM
when talking about something on the order of the size of the earth, 3.14159 gets you accurate to within about 100 meters....3.14 gets you accurate to within about 20 kilometers
when talking about something on the order of 100 meters in radius, 3.14159 gets you accurate to about 5 centimeters.
Oooh so it's only a 99.999% accurate approximation. I'm talking about it's pratical use. ;)
mdklatt
10/4/2006, 12:42 PM
Oooh so it's only a 99.999% accurate approximation. I'm talking about it's pratical use. ;)
Ask the people who built the mirror for the Hubble telescope about this....
proud gonzo
10/4/2006, 12:45 PM
when talking about something on the order of the size of the earth, 3.14159 gets you accurate to within about 100 meters....3.14 gets you accurate to within about 20 kilometers
when talking about something on the order of 100 meters in radius, 3.14159 gets you accurate to about 5 centimeters.
shouldn't three places be 3.142 instead of 3.141? (you didn't say that, i'm just asking cause you're a smarty pants :D )
Ask the people who built the mirror for the Hubble telescope about this....
ding.
shouldn't three places be 3.142 instead of 3.141? (you didn't say that, i'm just asking cause you're a smarty pants :D )
if you are rounding.
critical_phil
10/4/2006, 12:56 PM
http://www.wilhelm-aerospace.org/WAEC/News/pumpkin_pi.jpeg
crawfish
10/4/2006, 01:06 PM
...and I can barely remember my own cell phone number.
VeeJay
10/4/2006, 01:24 PM
TOKYO -
Fujii said all of Haraguchi's activities during the attempt, including his bathroom breaks, were videotaped for evidence that will later be sent for verification by the Guinness Book of Records.
It's a little known fact that exerting and squeezing out a well compacted #2 actually releases endorphins and has been shown to result in amazing recall abilities.
I think he should be disqualified.
Widescreen
10/4/2006, 02:11 PM
Ask the people who built the mirror for the Hubble telescope about this....
Inaccurate Pi had nothing to do with the Hubble's mirror problems. I believe it was just slightly pincushioned on one side. Just wanted to point that out for accuracy and also because I feel like being an a-hole.
:P
Inaccurate Pi had nothing to do with the Hubble's mirror problems. I believe it was just slightly pincushioned on one side. Just wanted to point that out for accuracy and also because I feel like being an a-hole.
:P
actually, it was made with an incorrect radius of curvature due to a mis-calibrated instrument during its construction.
Widescreen
10/4/2006, 02:28 PM
actually, it was made with an incorrect radius of curvature due to a mis-calibrated instrument during its construction.
"Pincushion" is hillbilly for what you just said.
I have Pi in my Netflix queue if that counts for anything...
I have Pi in my Netflix queue if that counts for anything...
egads..what an awful movie....
IB4OU2
10/4/2006, 02:38 PM
actually, it was made with an incorrect radius of curvature due to a mis-calibrated instrument during its construction.
Good grief , can you imagine the metrology guy writing the risk notification for that out of cal instrument?........:eek:
Containment action- Launch Space shuttle to scrap or repair mirror.
Good grief , can you imagine the metrology guy writing the risk notification for that out of cal instrument?........:eek:
Containment action- Launch Space shuttle to scrap or repair mirror.
well, they tested the mirror afterward with two identical (but properly calibrated instruments) which gave "wrong" results...turns out those results were correct. But they just figured the two post-construction instruments were the miscalibrated ones and not the one used during construction.
KABOOKIE
10/4/2006, 03:06 PM
Ask the people who built the mirror for the Hubble telescope about this....
I'm talking about pratcical use here. A telescope to see star dust? Pfffft. But, hey you guys can tell me where a bowling ball spinning at 452 rpm will end up on a theoretical sphere representing Earth if released 1 deg above the Equator...... :D
egads..what an awful movie....
I was wondering that. It is now removed. Thanks!
william_brasky
10/4/2006, 05:36 PM
I agree with the awfulness of that movie.
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