Graphic from Wikimedia Commons, a repository of media licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Every year I ask students to memorize 30 decimal digits of pi. When people ask why, I offer several reasons based on improving student performance and ability. Here are some thoughts on the subject.
It helps students focus on a single task and do it well.
Students need to be able to work on a single thing and become better at it over time. It gives them the experience of setting a goal and then achieving it. When an entire class has the same goal of learning the digits of pi, it has a strong effect on motivation and gives students the feeling that they can do it.
It helps improve your memory.
Students find ways of remembering the digits of pi by using analogies of remembering phone numbers. Knowing 30 digits of pi is like knowing three phone numbers (including area codes). Repetition is necessary for students to gain improvement, and this is a necessary component of success in future life. Many students willingly commit hours on a daily basis to sports and other activities, and devoting time to their minds will pay long-term dividends.
It exercises your brain and keeps it in shape.
People exercise their bodies to stay physically in shape, so it makes sense to treat your brain in the same fashion. Daily practice of memorizing digits of pi allows students to improve their brain’s functioning ability and creativity. The use of mental aerobics such as this activity will make students’ brains stronger.
Here’s a Pi Memorization Poem to help with the task:
Now I will a rhyme construct (3.14159)
By chosen words the young instruct (265358)
Cunningly devised endeavors, (979)
Con it and remember ever. (32384)
Widths of circle here you see. (626433)
Sketched out in strange obscurity. (83279)
(use the number of letters of each word for the digits of pi)
Related Post:
40 Ways to Say Hi to Pi – Pi Day Wordies that Honor Pi on Its Birthday, March 14, 2008
A Slice of Pi Day Art – A Tribute to the Mathematician’s Favorite Day, March 14
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I agree with all of the above, and I’ll add one more. I believe many people simply are curious about how good their memory actually is. Hanging around cow-pi.com has been enlightening. It’s amazing how many people actually memorize the digits of pi; and I’m not talking about 10 or 20 digits. As pi day approaches hundreds of people rattle off 50-100 digits every day. Pretty amazing. Why pi? I think it’s because pi is one of the few ways to get ‘apples to apples’ comparisons with other people. Well , that’s my 2 cents worth. Moo.
-Ada
As an interesting aside, check out theFeb 15 2011 NY Times article ‘Secrets of a mind gamer”.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/02/20/magazine/mind-secrets.html