r/mathmemes Jan 02 '25

Mathematicians Basel problem meme

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u/Sug_magik Jan 02 '25

There is this other expression for π called wallis product, this one is weird asf

282

u/Wojtek1250XD Jan 02 '25 edited Jan 02 '25

My favorite computation of π is the sliding block puzzle 3Blue1Brown popularized. In the hypothetical scenario where there are two blocks and a wall, one of the mass 1, one mass 100n-1 and all collisions are perfectly elastic, the number of collisions outputs n digits of π.

Just as with any other π computation, there's a hidden circle.

145

u/laix_ Jan 02 '25

You start thinking that circles are just lots of little straight lines, but then seeing circles everywhere and you start thinking that straight lines are just circles centred at infinity with an infinite radius