It’s a date marked on the calendars of mathletes and scientists everywhere; the 14th of March, or Pi Day as it has come to be known. Pi Day fever has been growing in recent years across the world, and SDA has been no exception. For the past few years, math and science teachers have been taking part in the fun by holding a contest to see which student can name the most digits of Pi.
On Thursday, dozens of budding SDA mathematicians trekked over to the Mosaic to try their hand at the competition. The stakes were high with nothing less than Chipotle, Papa Toni’s, and Subzero gift cards on the line for any student who could name more than 10 digits of Pi.
Math teacher Paul Brice was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm for mathematical miracle known as Pi. “Someone told me so many digits of Pi that I’m in shock,” he said.
Students seemed to enjoy the experience as well. “I like Pi Day at SDA because it is all about celebrating math and you get free stuff for it,” said Junior Joey Levin, who was one of the many Pi enthusiasts able to recite over 10 digits to receive his gift cards.
Freshman Cortez Page blew away the competition by reciting well over 75 digits of Pi, a herculean effort which must have been achieved through years of dedication to the ancient mathematical constant.
“Some people take it really seriously; I know people who have been practicing Pi for over 10 years,” said Junior Marc Bahbahani. “Some people have worked their whole lives and wait all year for this day.”
So for us mere mortals who couldn’t conjure enough courage to dare attempt to recite Pi, there is always next March 14. So start practicing: 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406286 …