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“Exploring pi is like exploring the universe.” — David Chudnovsky.
Pi Day has circled back again! It’s been 38 years since physicist Larry Shaw introduced the “holiday” at the San Francisco Exploratorium. The occasion serves as a wonderful invitation to enthusiasts, educators, and students to explore and marvel at the mysteries and beauty of mathematics.
People find all sorts of ways to celebrate the day. Activities include eating round things — pie, pizza, pi-shaped pies, and so on. Some run or walk 3.14 miles. Others recite digits from memory, engage in pi-related math puzzles, or construct pi-shaped arts and crafts.
Then there’s music.
Making Music from Pi the Old Fashioned Way
Sonification is a relatively new term of art. Interestingly, spellcheckers still don’t recognize the word. It refers to the process of transforming information into sound that falls within the human hearing range. It’s a field that I am currently active in.
Sonification can not only be applied to scientific data, but also to number sequences. A set of numbers can be matched to a set of notes in an enormous variety of ways. Some can sound marvelous, others…
