I must admit I was unaware of this controversy, but it makes some sense to stop using the constant pi, and to use a new term, tau, instead. Tau is defined as 2 times pi, which would be 6.283. This is explained in a fun article in a recent Scientific American story:
Tau relates the properties of a circle to the circle's diameter, whereas pi is related to the radius (r). So the equation 2*pi*r, which gives the circumference of the circle based on a measure of the radius, is replaced with the simpler version, tau*diameter, where the diameter is simply twice the radius. I always wondered, when bored in class, why mathematicians used the radius in calculations instead of the diameter. The article cites some of the history of pi, and why that constant was chosen.
Mathematically, it makes no difference. The argument for changing everything to tau is based on the observation that using the radius always involves a "2" multiplier, which sometimes makes the resulting expression somewhat less obvious. Examples used in this Scientific American article show how the use of pi always adds an additional "2" in an expression, sometimes degrading the apparent simplicity/beauty of fundamental equations in the process.
Interesting topic, especially if you enjoy math.
Mathematically, it makes no difference. The argument for changing everything to tau is based on the observation that using the radius always involves a "2" multiplier, which sometimes makes the resulting expression somewhat less obvious. Examples used in this Scientific American article show how the use of pi always adds an additional "2" in an expression, sometimes degrading the apparent simplicity/beauty of fundamental equations in the process.
Interesting topic, especially if you enjoy math.
Comments
One last point.....from a historical perspective, PI has a very specific meaning. It is the ration of the circumference of a circle to its diameter: PI = C/D. I don't think changing this definition to TAU/2 =C/D is easier or more aesthetic.
So, I'm sticking with PI...it tastes better anyway!