Can't say I like the idea of multiple values of pi, for the same reason I don't like reading that 1 + 2 + 3 + ... = -1/12 , namely: Such claims, no matter what kind of mathematical hair-splitting can be used to justify them, just result in more confusion among the general public. —Dan
On Feb 13, 2017, at 5:28 PM, James Propp <jamespropp@gmail.com> wrote:
On Monday, February 13, 2017, Eugene Salamin via math-fun < math-fun@mailman.xmission.com> wrote:
While some of my suggestions have been included in the current manuscript, I see no change concerning 2π = circumference/radius being a variable.
I put in more air-quotes, and I put in the passage about the Feast of Fools, so that readers who get that far will know that talking about "different values of pi" is mathematical "street talk", not acceptable in the inner precincts of the kingdom.
Eugene and Bill and others would probably prefer a more stringent approach, and if I were the first person to use the phrase "different values of pi" I'd certainly agree with them. However, this slangy way of talking is already pretty standard in parts of the math ed world and on the web, so I don't think I'd be opening any hitherto unopened floodgates of loose usage.