On the contrary, I am neither amazed by nor caring about the number pi. Sure it is an important factor in many ways but it is not the number 3.14159265358979323846... that does anything new. It is an "
artifact" of our understanding of nature. Decimal system of numbers, that was invented by Arabs several centuries back, did not explain the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter correctly, so we have an
irrational artifact. If someone else chooses an octal base number system, your pi will be something different. Or if that system was chosen to be based on geometry, you might end up with a pi of unity. What I am trying to say here is, we invent something and then astonished by the natural result of the invention alas the pi number. I am personally more amazed by the quantum mechanics and its implications on the way we observe things around us
P.S. (I know this is off-topic but I had to write)
P.P.S. (I hope this is understandable enough for everybody)[/QUOTE
Of course the quantity of things always depends on the base number system chosen for representation. But pi is´nt something DIFFERENT in octal base number system, the ratio stays the same (would be bad if it wasn´t so when changing base number systems), just the numbers look differently...
I like the philosophical approach to science Mr. V has, because if you look to a school book, everything is reduced to formulas, everything seems to be working according to the simple principle: Take the formula, fill in the variables => result! You can calculate the gravitation between the earth and moon within seconds, if you have the correct formula, and you know why it doesnt fall from the sky or drifts away from earth, but its still impressive to go outside at night and watch the moon. Or to take pi again: everyone knows that a circle isn´t a square, but pi expresses how extreme this difference is. Of course, thinking about complex things like quantum physics is extremely cool as well...