A project I am working led me to the calculation of π. The history of the calculation of π is an interesting journey. It started at least as far back as with Pythagoras of Samos(570-495BC). His work was fundamental to Archimedes of Syracuse(287-212BC) work with which I am starting.
This journey (aka rabbit hole) started with the Monte Carlo method of calculating π . The connections between early mathematicians and computer simulations are interesting. As I revisit this, I am sure I didn’t really understand this when I was introduced to it decades ago.
While teaching, one important insight I gained was the view of math held by my students. They saw math as a problem, not as a tool. In retrospect, I think this view was not far from my own as I struggled with the interdependence of math and physics. I was curious, but didn’t fully appreciate the tools with which I worked.
The point of this post is, I think our education system fails to present math as a fascinating subject with more intrigue than an online computer game. Mathematics is the language of science. Reading for comprehension is a critical skill which appears to be weak in many students. Reading math for comprehension is even less well developed.
The interested reader could start at https://mathscholar.org/2019/02/simple-proofs-archimedes-calculation-of-pi/