International Day of Mathematics 2022 takes place on Monday the 14th of March, marking the third annual celebration of its kind. Its goal is to encourage international mathematics activities and further development of mathematics. This new event is one to praise, as it honors something that forms an integral part of all life.
International Pi Day
Originally the 14th of March was celebrated as International Pi Day. A day of commemoration first introduced in 1988 by American physicist Larry Shaw. He chose this day because the date written with the month first, 3/14, matches the rounded up numerical value of Pi, which is 3.14.
As one might imagine, the 14th of March 2015 was an especially celebrated day, named “Super Pi Day”. Since, following the trend, its date 3/14/15 coincided with the first five numbers of Pi, 3.1415.
What is Pi?
Pi is a mathematical constant, also known as Archimedes’ constant, which is essentially defined as the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Not only does its decimal representation never end, but it also never settles into a predictable pattern. So its numerical value is most often rounded off.
How We Use Mathematics Every Day
It would be almost impossible to easily explain how mathematics forms part of our everyday lives. But both humans and the nature that surrounds us use math for almost everything. Both consciously and subconsciously! For example, we can consciously use mathematics to calculate that Mount Everest weighs an estimated 178 billion tons. Plus, somewhat subconsciously, many of nature’s spiral shapes, such as in sunflowers and shells, follow the Fibonacci sequence.
Some Fun Mathematical Facts
- On the 14 of March, light from the sun takes approximately 495 seconds, or 8 minutes and 15 seconds, to reach us on earth.
- A year isn’t exactly 365 days. It’s actually 365.2564 days and that’s why we have a leap year every four years.
- Multiplying ones will always give you palindromic numbers. So your answer will always read the same forwards and backwards. For example, 111,111,111 × 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321. Or 11 x 11 = 121.
- A circle has the largest area of any shape with the same perimeter.
- If you thoroughly shuffle a pack of cards there is a greater chance than not that the exact sequence in the deck has never been seen before in all of recorded history.
- If you enter Pi to two decimal places (3.14) in a calculator and look at it in the mirror, it looks like it spells ‘pie’.
The Theme for International Mathematics Day 2022
The theme for 2022’s International Day of Mathematics is “Mathematics Unites”. A theme suggested by Yuliya Nesterova, a graduate student from the University of Ottawa in Canada.
“It is a common language we all have and a common subject with which to find one another.”
Yuliya Nesterova
Last year’s theme was “Mathematics for a Better World”, and the theme for the very first International Day of Mathematics, held in 2020, was “Mathematics is Everywhere”.
