RobotToaster@mander.xyz to Today I Learned@lemmy.worldEnglish · 9 days agoTIL that Indiana’s House of Representatives once unanimously passed a bill to make Pi exactly 3.2www.scientificamerican.comexternal-linkmessage-square67linkfedilinkarrow-up1449
arrow-up1449external-linkTIL that Indiana’s House of Representatives once unanimously passed a bill to make Pi exactly 3.2www.scientificamerican.comRobotToaster@mander.xyz to Today I Learned@lemmy.worldEnglish · 9 days agomessage-square67linkfedilink
minus-squareMolochHorridus@piefed.sociallinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up87·9 days agoThis kind of anti-scientific bullshit could only happen in the U.S.A.
minus-squareGhostalmedia@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up54·9 days agoIt was the late 1800’s. Dumb shit wasn’t in short supply in the world. Problem is, I could also see Trump’s WWE education secretary pushing for this in 2026.
minus-squareMarthirial@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up16·8 days agoThe fact that it is 100% plausible today is the worrying part.
minus-squareorlyowl@piefed.calinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up5·9 days agoYes I was fully expecting the details to be “It was a Republican-sponsored bill in 1992” or similar. It’s just too damn believable.
minus-squareZos_Kia@jlai.lulinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up2·8 days agoHonestly in terms of late 1800s engineering, pi = 3.2 is accurate within 2% it’s not that scandalous
minus-squareZoteTheMighty@lemmy.ziplinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up3·8 days agoUnironically, NIST basically did this with Planck’s constant and the speed of light.
minus-squarenialv7@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up8·8 days agoyou can’t do that to pi because it’s dimensionless
minus-squareCosmicTurtle0 [he/him]@lemmy.dbzer0.comlinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up5·8 days agoI sort of get NIST doing something like this. I think even NASA rounds pi to 8 digits since that gets them within a diameter of a hydrogen atom. The purpose of NIST is not necessarily accuracy but consistency.
This kind of anti-scientific bullshit could only happen in the U.S.A.
It was the late 1800’s. Dumb shit wasn’t in short supply in the world.
Problem is, I could also see Trump’s WWE education secretary pushing for this in 2026.
The fact that it is 100% plausible today is the worrying part.
Yes I was fully expecting the details to be “It was a Republican-sponsored bill in 1992” or similar. It’s just too damn believable.
Honestly in terms of late 1800s engineering, pi = 3.2 is accurate within 2% it’s not that scandalous
Unironically, NIST basically did this with Planck’s constant and the speed of light.
you can’t do that to pi because it’s dimensionless
I sort of get NIST doing something like this. I think even NASA rounds pi to 8 digits since that gets them within a diameter of a hydrogen atom.
The purpose of NIST is not necessarily accuracy but consistency.