Why I Love Where I Work Sometimes, this internal email:

Good morning from the Math Department!

Today is 3.14--International Pi Day! Some interesting facts about this remarkable number:

If the first billion digits of pi were printed in "ordinary" type, they would stretch from New York City to the middle of Kansas.

As far back as Mesopotamia, people have known that the ratio of the circumference to the diameter always the same, no matter the size of the circle. Pi is even mentioned in the Bible in I Kings 7,23 and in II Chronicles 4,2.

Einstein was born on Pi Day.

On this day, thousands of otherwise perfectly sane people share a lot of pretty much useless information about pi.

you don't work where I work, do you?

It is funny to think of my cat as wrinkly, even though it is cute!

EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE PIE FOR LUNCH!!!

MMM PI!

EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE PIE FOR LUNCH!!!

And a hairless cat to keep the lap warm.

OK, maybe not.

ION, human brain == freaky.

IRVINE, Calif., March 13 (UPI) -- Scientists at the University of California-Irvine have identified the first known case of a new, superior memory syndrome.

Researchers Elizabeth Parker, Larry Cahill and James McGaugh spent more than five years studying the case of "AJ," a 40-year-old woman with incredibly strong memories of her personal past.

Given a date, AJ can recall with astonishing accuracy what she was doing on that date and what day of the week it was. Because her case is the first of its kind, the researchers have proposed a name for her syndrome -- hyperthymestic syndrome -- based on the Greek word thymesis for "remembering" and hyper, meaning "more than normal."

McGaugh said AJ's case differs from others with superior memory. Nearly all recorded cases involve people who used mnemonic devices to create associations among facts.

"What makes this young woman so remarkable is that she uses no mnemonic devices to help her remember things," said McGaugh.

The research is published in the current issue of the journal Neurocase.

[link]

I feel I should forestall tomorrow early am posting of "like my innocence, pi gone."

Consider it done.

Now I need to put on clothes.

Today is 3.14--International Pi Day!

I heard this on NPR this morning, accompanied by a song about pi -- or maybe it was just pi, the number, set to music. It was a sultry female vocal singing a string of numbers.

t edit It's apparently Kate Bush, singing "Pi". That's so fucking cool.

I love how they described the 40-year-old woman as a "young woman."

Fuck yeah.

The actual title of the song is the symbol. How much did I love my iPod when the title came up as the symbol? A lot.

Hmph, the symbol won't show up on the b.org.

It's apparently Kate Bush, singing "Pi". That's so fucking cool.

That was definitely one of the songs that made me really like her new album.