What Is Pi Day?

PRINCE GEORGE- March 14 marks Pi Day around the globe, but it’s not celebrating apple pie or pizza pie, the day recognizes the mathematical constant π or 3.14. Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference and diameter, and it’s used commonly in math and science. “It shows up in things like waves, whenever you’re talking about electronics, whenever you’re talking about frequencies, when you’re talking about wave patterns to get an MRI, you use pi,” said UNBC environmental science professor, Todd Whitcombe, “it shows up in a number of really important places for our normal everyday life.”

If you’re not a math wiz, it may be hard to understand the reason for the holiday. It’s simply an opportunity for the science community to show how math is all around us.  “A lot of people think ‘why do I have to learn math I’m never going to use it?’ you actually use math every day,” Whitcombe added, “when you stop your car you’re solving a differential equation.”