Pi: Not so Simple

Pi is not so simple to comprehend. According to Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi - since most of you will go there anyway): Pi or π is one of the most important mathematical constants, approximately equal to 3.14159. It represents the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter in Euclidean geometry, which is the same as the ratio of a circle's area to the square of its radius.

For me, that “approximately” creates problems in understanding this simple constant. The circle is real, you can hold a wheel in your hands, play with it, put a cabin and engine on top of four such circles and go places…real places. But still the constant associated with this very real object is not so real. Infact it is irrational, and arguing about something irrational, by definition mind you, doesn’t take you anywhere. On top of that, it is transcendental. Now I associate anything transcendental to abstract, not very definable or comprehendible.

So there you go, Pi is not simple to comprehend. Why this is so is beyond me. How can this be, what is the mystery? What if we devise a number system and geometry such that Pi becomes real (the way it should be)? Will it give us any new revelation into how universe works? The sphere, to which shape most cosmological entities like to end up, is entangled with Pi? Will this new mathematico-physical system unravel the mysteries? Who knows?

I’m moving away from simple stuff, which is where my online alter-ego is not comfortable. So, I’ll stop pondering.