FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

I was rather bored in study hall the other day and for some reason started doodling a FIRST logo. As I drew it I had an epiphany: There something hidden in the logo! Consider this image:



And look at the number of sides of each shape.
Triangle: 3
Circle: 1 continuous side
Square: 4

314...? Doesn't that look a bit like... 3.14?! The FIRST logo is a symbolic representation of Pi! If only the (R) symbol came after the triangle somehow. It would be a great decimal.

Now, I don't know if this was done on purpose, but I'd love to think it was. What do you guys think? Great coincidence, or conspiracy of mathematical proportions?

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Very nice discovery. I don't think they could have done it in propose, the red triangle in the left is probably positioned that way for aesthetic reasons. Remember that the old FIRST logo had a triangle in the left too.

However, whether a circle has a side or even a continuous one is highly ambiguous.

EDIT: I can argue that a circle can have two sides, one in the outside and one in the inside.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

It isn't a conspiracy at all. It is actually Archimedes at work. It's mathematical relationships.

The origins of the logo is explained in this animation: Primitives

It was produced in 2010 by team 116 and shown at the Championship in Atlanta.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

I am familiar of the FIRST logo, but I think the question imposed here is what does the FIRST logo have to do with the mathematical constant Pi? And Archimedes came up with the constant Pi.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Archimedes may have 'discovered' the natural number we call pi.

And pi is integral to the mathematics of the objects described in the animation.

And conincidentally, the OP has 'discovered' the three objects has three, one, and four sides.

neato.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

It's a conspiracy, and we're leading it.... :D

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Does this mean the winners of worlds chairman's get pies of their choice sent to their shop?
Super incentive!

Edit: Jane Younge, I've been reading your posts for too long now :P

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

No such thing.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Sorry to be a buzz kill, but technically a circle has infinitely many sides.

P.S. Down with Pi! All hail Tau!
(As it is 3 o'clock in the morning I'm not going to give a lengthy explanation but basically Tau = 2Pi. Google it to find out all the ways this make so much more sense than using Pi, G'night everyone)

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

[pedantic math nerd ::rtm::]

Technically, pi is a real number, not a natural number...

[/pedantic math nerd]

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

1: I wasn't entirely sure of the technical number of sides of a circle, so I figured since the angle changes constantly but without variation (unlike polygons that have corners) then it only has one side. But to be honest I'm a conspiracy theorist. I bend these things so they fit :)
2: That was a fascinating video about the origins of the logo- very informative. I vaguely recall learning about that relationship but never realized that it applied to the logo.
3: "Down with pi, all hail Tau"- Totally with you! Have you watched any videos by Vihart on YouTube? She has an excellent explanation of why we should switch.

And, I know it's not actually a conspiracy, just an interesting discovery. My conspiracy-self is a facetious sensationalist.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Thanks for the correction. I couldn't remember since the development of math came after the development of agriculture.

According to my team, I'm so old I invented agriculture. So obviously the invention of math was after my time.....

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

But Tau doesn't sound like a delicious desert! :(




P.S. Ignore my rational as I am allergic to pie anyways :P

EDIT: P.P.S. I apologize for all my posts not being the slightest bit constructive and all revolving around food.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Showing great promise, Katie. :)

What I would like to add is, doodle on, sir, doodle on. Awesome.

Jane

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Both pi and tau are irrational, so no problem.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Also since Tau = 2 Pi, on 6/28 (Tau Day), you get double the Pie! :D

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

.
The Pascack Pi-O-Neers approve of this thread.


So, you were there but didn't have any interest in this new-fangled math stuff?
No, no, food is good, and constructive is over-rated.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

All this talk of number conspiracies reminds me of 413 from Homestuck: it'll always be there but it's fun to note, and maddening to find.

Someone's going to derive a game hint from this, I just know it.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Also if you look at the circle with everything interlocking it makes four mis-shapen pie slices, aren't conspiracies fun?

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Picasso must be involved. Only he would cut a pie like that.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

I don't know, I've had pizzas cut irregularly like that.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

GR, I've been thinking the same thing...I used 413 to remember the order of the pieces this year, from the driver's point of view.

I agree, Tau is way better. It makes several formulae much nicer!

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

We were still working on inventing fire, didn't have time to think about math yet.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Because you put together 3 things that could come from anywhere, i would say that this is probably not a conspiracy. Now if you could find Pi to say... 3.141592 in that order hidden in the logo, then maybe it is a conspiracy.
Although even if you did i still don't see how this is a conspiracy. If Dean Kamen tried to cover it up yes but i don't remember him saying anything about a secret spyplane in the logo...

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Since nobody else has done so yet. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your contribution towards fire. Though many people overlook this, I appreciate your hard work to allow me to have a warm home.

Thank you,
Jason

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Notice he only said they were "working on" fire; instead they came up with Magic Smoke.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

...and for that, we thank him. :p

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Yeah, after I got fire done I directed my attention to other matters.

The next invention was squares and cubes. After a while I taught some people how to stack cubes. Problem was they stacked them in tall triangular shapes in the desert, and across the Americas too.

They had a real tough time moving those big cubes so I figured I could invent a circle. Once I had the circle it wasn't too hard to invent the wheel. Once that was done it got a lot easier to move the cubes. The triangular part just fell out of the whole exercise.

Then Archimedes came along and sorta ran off off with the whole cube triangle circle thing. Just saying'

One day I'll have to tell you about bronze.....

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

I'm glad someone posted the video that explains the logo. Dean's 'favorite principle' of Archimedes lives on in the logo, designed by his father.

It makes me proud to see that spirit in the students who just doodle and think and wonder about all the little things like this :)

As Jane said - doodle on.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

This is quite interesting... I love to hear math bantered about.
One thing though... Archimedes did not "invent" nor "discover" Pi
The relationship between a circle's circumference and its diameter was well known by his time... The Babylonians knew of it... and the Eqyptians.. among just a few

The value the Babylonians used was 3 and 1/4
and the Eqyptians used 256/81

Most commonly 22/7 was used.

Archimedes was a genius by any standard but he did not discover Pi.
He did use it to remarkable effect though...

Oh and Mr. Barker... We Mayans have this thing we came up with... kinda round and "wheely" looking
So far we only use it on toys... can't find any other uses yet... still working...........


:0)

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Is PIzza and PI a naming conspiracy?

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

pi is a beautiful transcendental.

The FIRST logo elements triangle, circle, and square, are projections of three interesting solids -- a cone with the same diameter and height, a sphere of that diameter, and a cylinder of that diameter and height. Volumes of these three solids are in 1:2:3 proportion, as discovered by Archimedes. (see the attachment)

A few years ago, I made a demo for the Cork Plug teaser: find one solid object that will completely plug holes of the shapes used in the FIRST logo. Volume of the (maximal) cork plug is more than that of the cone, and less than that of the sphere.

Mysteriously, pi keeps popping up in these formulae ....;)

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

(in your best english italian accent)

So what's a matter wid u ?

You never heard of the "PIzza PIe" ?

Of course PIzza is a PIe, dat's why it'z a Round !! If you didn't have a 'PI' then you couldn't have a 'PIzza"

capiche'

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Here is a book I would love to recommend in this thread:
http://www.amazon.com/History-Pi-Pet.../dp/0312381859

He is a bit tough on religion, but that was only because religion was a bit tough on Math and Science at times.

Overall a very fun book.

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

<sarcasm>
:ahh: :ahh: :ahh: :ahh: :ahh:
No I did not heard of such a recipe.
</sarcasm>

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

Clearly, your robot has not broken down frequently enough...

Re: FIRST: The Pi Conspiracy
 

This looks fascinating, I'll have to look for it at my library. I guess I can count on CD for nifty reading material!

Haha, believe me, it has, but I need *something* to occupy my mind with while off-season!