2012-06-28

Getting a full slice of pie

Last year, I presented some information about the mathematical concept of "tau". Most importantly, I encouraged an educational focus toward the practical:
Keeping the students as the priority, certain "weird math" gets discarded. For example, did you know that a full pi radian angle is only 180°. If I were to use only pi to cut you a slice of pie that means you would only get half of what you asked for because a circle is really 2π. Using τ you would have access to the full 360°.
Today is again Tau Day and I would like to remind you to get that full slice of pie in your life. Use an open mind and the power of critical thinking to find the methods which expand your world-view.

As I've said in some fashion in other articles:
Never accept "because I said so"; find a better source, one which will help nurture your curiosity not belittle it. Explore the world around you, excite your mind with interest, accept the dynamic nature of "fact", and wonder at the beauty of information.
Vi has put together another fun video [YouTube] about Tau this year. As she says in the silly fun of her song:
"We get further from truth when we obscure what we say."
Tau is a simple and easy way to understand the math of circles. And, let's be honest, math is far to important to be overlooked because someone long ago decided to make it appear harder to conceptualize than it really is.

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