Can YOU Beat My Record for Memorizing Digits of Pi?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenge of memorizing digits of pi, exploring personal experiences, motivations, and the perceived value of such an endeavor. Participants share their own records, opinions on the necessity of memorizing pi, and the implications for memory improvement.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant claims to hold a world age record for memorizing 1500 digits of pi but acknowledges forgetting some digits.
  • Another participant questions the value of memorizing pi beyond a few decimal places for practical use.
  • Some participants argue that memorizing pi can serve as a memory exercise, while others challenge the effectiveness of this practice.
  • There are references to existing world records, including a recognized record of 67,890 digits held by Lu Chao, and discussions about the lack of age-specific records.
  • One participant expresses skepticism about the utility of memorizing pi, suggesting that it may replace more important memories.
  • Several participants share their own experiences with memorizing pi, ranging from a few digits to larger numbers, and reflect on the impact of this practice on their memory.
  • There are cultural references suggesting that memorizing pi may be more common in certain regions, with some participants noting the availability of calculators and slide rules that reduce the need for memorization.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of agreement and disagreement regarding the value and practicality of memorizing pi. While some see it as a beneficial memory exercise, others question its necessity and relevance in everyday life. The discussion remains unresolved with multiple competing views.

Contextual Notes

Some claims about world records are challenged, and there is uncertainty regarding the criteria for age-specific records. Limitations in the discussion include a lack of consensus on the effectiveness of memorization for improving memory and the varying cultural perspectives on the practice.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in memory techniques, challenges related to memorization, or the cultural significance of mathematical constants may find this discussion relevant.

Vincit
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Pi. An infinite number. INFINITE. People have been memorizing the digits of pi to a certain number of decimal places. A challenge for you: how many can YOU remember?

I hold the world age record(i actually don't, because i haven't told anyone except my friends about it) for memorizing 1500 digits. I did that about a year ago(when i was 13) and I've forgotten about 100 of those numbers. The numbers are literally stuck in my head. It's a great way to increase your memory and keep it at work.

Good Luck~
 
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The fact that I live near the beach (San Diego), the fact that it's sunny outside, and the fact that I feel I have some semblance of a life (socially and otherwise), prevents me from doing this.
 
I am socially active. But this is easier than you think, and it's just an exercise for my spare time. So acquiesce to this, and don't give your opinion. I'm not asking for it.
 
Why bother memorizing \pi to thousands of decimal places? You'll rarely need more than 2 or 3 decimal places for everyday calculations.
 
3.14159.....is about all I care to know.
 
jgens said:
Why bother memorizing \pi to thousands of decimal places? You'll rarely need more than 2 or 3 decimal places for everyday calculations.

It can train your memory and improve it by a great deal.
 
Vincit said:
It can train your memory and improve it by a great deal.

Sure, assuming that it actually does improve your memory, why not improve your memory by memorizing something that you'll actually use?
 
I think Chuck Norris holds the record.
 
I can only remember the first digit, 2.
 
  • #10
Vincit said:
I hold the world age record(i actually don't, because i haven't told anyone except my friends about it) for memorizing 1500 digits. I did that about a year ago(when i was 13) and I've forgotten about 100 of those numbers. The numbers are literally stuck in my head. It's a great way to increase your memory and keep it at work.

This is a spurious claim, as either you can only include people who have been tested for the record, or you have to include everyone in the world. If you include everyone in the world, you have no evidence that you knew more digits than anyone else at the age of 13
 
  • #11
22/7
 
  • #12
If you're European or American, why would you want to memorize any digits of pi. Your slide rules have a special mark (at around 3.14, actually), so there's no reason to memorize pi at all.

I think memorizing pi is mostly an Asian thing, since slide rules designed for Asian markets seldom included a special mark for pi (except, ironically, at the end of the folded scales which enable one to multiply by pi simply by changing from one scale to another without any need to reference the actual value at all).

Maybe memorizing pi was a holdover from using an abacus, which obviously had no easy way to incorporate constants into the design.

And, of course, nowadays pi is just a button on a calculator.

One should still know at least the first 3 digits of pi. Beyond 3 digits, one would probably gain more value by memorizing the value of many constants to a few digits than one constant to many digits (Avagadro's number, e, electron charge, Boltzmann constant and/or ideal gas constant, speed of light, permeability and permittivity of free space, Planck's constant, Angelina Jolie's phone number, etc)
 
  • #13
BobG said:
Your slide rules have a special mark (at around 3.14, actually), so there's no reason to memorize pi at all.

I'll have to check out my slide rule. I don't think it has this... but it's a mini-circular model.

BobG said:
One should still know at least the first 3 digits of pi. Beyond 3 digits, one would probably gain more value by memorizing the value of many constants to a few digits than one constant to many digits (Avagadro's number, e, electron charge, Boltzmann constant and/or ideal gas constant, speed of light, permeability and permittivity of free space, Planck's constant, Angelina Jolie's phone number, etc)

:smile:

I personally am really thinking more about eating pie these days rather than anything to do with pi. Guess maternity leave will do that to ya.
 
  • #14
Office_Shredder said:
This is a spurious claim, as either you can only include people who have been tested for the record, or you have to include everyone in the world. If you include everyone in the world, you have no evidence that you knew more digits than anyone else at the age of 13

I'm just including people that have been tested and are in the Pi World Ranking List.
www.pi-world-ranking-list.com
If i was tested for it, i would be the world age record holder. Who knows... maybe i will.
 
  • #15
Vincit said:
I hold the world age record(i actually don't, because i haven't told anyone except my friends about it) for memorizing 1500 digits. I did that about a year ago(when i was 13) and I've forgotten about 100 of those numbers.

Actually, the Guinness World Record recognized for remembered digits is 67,890. But Guinness does not keep by age records.

From Wikipedia
Wikipedia said:
The Guinness-recognized record for remembered digits of pi is 67,890 digits, held by Lu Chao, a 24-year-old graduate student from China. It took him 24 hours and 4 minutes to recite to the 67,890th decimal place of pi without an error.

Your link
Vincit said:
http://www.pi-world-ranking-list.com/[/quote]
Does not provide age rankings as I could see.

Your self proclaimed world record is not. Keep practicing though. A friend and I in HS challenged each other at this (that was many moons ago), we were not as successful as Lu Chao, but better then the average person. Just like any muscle or skill, practice does improved memory, and I believe my memory is better of it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #16
Insanity said:
Actually, the Guinness World Record recognized for remembered digits is 67,890. But Guinness does not keep by age records.

From Wikipedia


Your link
Does not provide age rankings as I could see.

Your self proclaimed world record is not. Keep practicing though. A friend and I in HS challenged each other at this (that was many moons ago), we were not as successful as Lu Chao, but better then the average person. Just like any muscle or skill, practice does improved memory, and I believe my memory is better of it.

There are not world age rankings on that site in plain sight. But if you actually checked, the highest record for anyone under 15 is 930. WR from GB. I'm 14.
 
  • #17
I'll be honest. In 8th grade, for extra credit in my math class and to get me from a B+ to an A-, I memorized my teachers wall of Pi, which was upto the 75th digit.

Now, 10 years later, I can't remember when my work meetings and my other appointments are, but I can still remember pi.

I don't think it improves memory as much as it supplants important other memories with its inane and useless self.
 

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