Re: [MacPerl] Speaking of Pi

[Bruce Van Allen <bva@cruzio.com>]

At 11:33 AM -0700 8/13/99, Brian McNett wrote:
>#!perl -w
>
># Speaking of Pi (speaking_of_pi.plx)
># How to Speak Pi to any precision!
># Thanks to Creede Lambard for supplying Pi to more
># precison than I'm actually using.

[snip]

Yay! This is great. And now that you've done it (even if there might 
be some further tweaks), it seems way easier than I expected, which 
attests to your skill, [Mac]Perl's capabilities, and the Mac's 
coolitude. I'll be high in the Sierras for the next several days 
(*without electronics*), so when I get back I'll find a suitable 
irrational prize for you...

And Kevin Reid just posted:

>Hmm... If you have an idea, I might implement it.

so it'd be fun to find another suitable challenge.

Meanwhile, let me mention again "pi culture." Some might be aware 
that there is a loose world-wide association of folks who share uses 
of pi recreationally and seriously in a variety of ways. (They 
celebrate on March 14 at one minute before 2:00 ;-) Some of this has 
to do with the challenges of computing pi accurately, but there are 
also many intriguing _applications_ of pi that provide startling 
insights and unravel certain natural phenomena. I'll find some 
examples. Pi revelations precede, both in history and in 
significance, those of fractal geometry.

Is this relevant to MacPerl? Well, yes, partly just in the sense of 
helping us all learn more about [Mac]Perl's power and what we can do 
with it. But also there are some very handy things to do with 
properly marshalled irrational numbers, and pi is a nice place to 
start. Of course, there are languages optimized for mathematical 
operations, and Matthias' reminder of the chosen arithmetic precision 
limit of most microprocessors must be considered. I doubt Perl would 
ever be used for something like cryptography, but there might be some 
other serious applications.

Speaking of cryptography, though, today's news carried the story of 
the RSA co-founder (Weizman, sp?) who has designed a machine using 
light that is capable of breaking 512-bit encryption in two or three 
days! I don't know how his mind works, but grappling with irrationals 
often stimulates thinking outside the circle/box...

Finally, does my phrase above "... a loose world-wide association of 
folks who share uses of ..."  ring a bell?

Back next week.

1;


- Bruce

__Bruce_Van_Allen___bva@cruzio.com__831_429_1688_V__
__PO_Box_839__Santa_Cruz_CA__95061__831_426_2474_W__


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