What do I know about circles? The mysterious number Pi: ​​what it is and how to remember it. What time does memory work best?

Every year on March 14th, mathematician enthusiasts celebrate “Pi Day” because this date coincides with the first three digits of Pi (3.14 is a mathematical constant that represents the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter). This year the event is even more significant, since for the first time in a century the date will represent the first five digits of Pi (3.14.15).

Pi is an irrational number, meaning it cannot be expressed as a fraction, and its decimal representation never repeats and never ends.

There are many ways to celebrate Pi Day, but its most ardent fans express their admiration by reciting tens of thousands of digits of Pi from memory.

In 1981, a Hindu man named Ryan Mahadevan recited the 31,811 digits of Pi from memory. In 1989, Japanese Hideaki Tomoyori broke his record by reading 40,000 digits. And in 2005, a new record was entered into the Guinness Book of Records, which went to the Chinese Lu Chao, he read 67,890 digits of Pi.

It turns out that despite their impressive achievements, most of these people do not have extraordinary memories. They simply have mastered methods for associating strings of numbers with imaginary places or scenes.

Palace of Memory

Experts in memorizing Pi combinations often use a method called the "memory palace." This method has been used since the times of the ancient Greeks and Romans. It involves using spatial visualization to remember information, such as numbers or lists of words.

Here's how it works: being in a familiar environment, for example, at home, you place pieces of information that you want to remember in different places in the room. For example, the number "717" is in the corner by the front door, the number "919" is in the sink, and so on.

In order to remember the combinations of numbers in order, all you need to do is simply follow the same path that you followed when choosing “storages” for information. This effective method allows you to recall huge amounts of information!

Anders Ericsson, a professor of psychology, studied people who set records in reciting digits of Pi to find out how they achieved such amazing results.

Like most other record holders, the Chinese Lu used visualization methods. He labeled imaginary images with two-digit combinations of numbers ranging from "00" to "99" and then created a story involving those images.

A few years ago, Ericsson decided to conduct an experiment involving Lu and a group of people of the same age and educational level. The scientist conducted a test that measured the “digital series” of the experiment members. In other words, the test showed how well they could remember a sequence of random digits presented at the rate of one digit per second.

According to the study, Lu's score was slightly above average compared to the rest of the group. The findings suggest that, unlike some other memory experts who have been studied, Lu's mastery of remembering long lists of numbers was not the result of an innate gift for encoding information. Rather, it was the result of many years of practice.

In March 2014, Arthur set a new record for reproducing the number Pi, naming 11,106 digits without hesitation. He was included in the Russian Book of Records while still a student. In addition, Arthur, as an expert on memory development, advises a well-known service on memorization issues, and while preparing for the record, he wrote an entire book called “Remember Everything”.

Arthur shared with us a story about how, with the help of healthy habits and self-training, you can achieve amazing results, and also dispelled several popular misconceptions about mnemonics and the work of memory.

How to remember tens of thousands of numbers?

I am often asked what it is like to have a phenomenal memory: can I learn languages ​​in a matter of days, do I keep memories of every day I live, do I remember the books I read word for word. At first it was nice to hear such questions, but now I immediately try to let new acquaintances understand that I have the most ordinary memory. The main thing is to understand how it works.

I was truly amazed when reading about people who were able to memorize decks of cards, numbers, and long lists of foreign words with amazing speed. One day I read about a person who could learn a language in two or three days, and I decided to seriously figure out how it works myself. At first it seemed that training would allow me to one day learn to memorize languages ​​in the blink of an eye. Now I can say that no one can learn a language in two or three days. The fact is that in the book that inspired me, the words “learn a language” meant memorizing 1.5 thousand words.

Then I actively memorized numbers with a stopwatch, wanting to learn how to study foreign languages with amazing speed.

“Why spend a year learning a language if you can develop your memory in six months and learn a language in a few days?” I thought, continuing my training.

Having learned to memorize a hundred digits in three minutes, I learned that the current Russian record at that time in memorizing the number Pi was only 8,332 digits. Why not set a new record? A great opportunity to stay motivated and better understand how memory works.

I decided to memorize the 22,528 digits of Pi. This is slightly more than the European record. To remember so many numbers, I walked around Moscow and laid out my pre-compiled images of numbers on the streets. For example, for the number 01 I have the image of Schumacher, because he comes first in the races, for 92 - the image of my brother, because he was born in 1992. All 22 thousand digits of Pi for me are big story which took place on the streets of Moscow.

Here are 3998 digits of Pi, arranged in a three-dimensional spiral. Source: Flickr.com

Absolutely anyone can beat my record. The most difficult thing is not to remember the numbers, but to reproduce them, because the rules of the record book do not allow you to correct yourself if you make a mistake. If you say “Twenty-five... oh, no, thirty-five!”, it will be counted as an error, even if you corrected yourself immediately. I was wrong by 11,106 characters, and this is now a new Russian record. If someone wants to beat him, I suggest opening almost any book on mnemonics. Memorizing is not the hardest part.

Where can I find time to train?

While preparing for the championship, I was also writing a book, studying English and preparing for university exams. At the same time, my free time did not decrease: I still read fiction, met with friends and even played computer games. However, I tried to use my time more rationally: I listened to English podcasts on the subway, repeated the number Pi at breakfast (and in other free minutes), and tried to memorize new locations and places in Moscow while walking with friends. I read books, watched films and played games only in the original language.

The main issue is not time, but motivation - it should be enough to devote at least a few minutes to your goals every day. It’s very easy to carve out a few minutes: in the morning at breakfast, on the subway, in line, while waiting for a meeting, even in the toilet. More than an hour can accumulate in a day. An hour a day for a month - already 30 hours! Add to this the opportunity to use your time more rationally (like watching movies in English, if your goal is to learn the language), as well as the hours that you completely devote to achieving your goal.

How to remember information quickly and for a long time?

To quickly remember disjointed and illogical information, such as names, numbers, foreign words, it is best to use mnemonics. Mnemonics (or mnemonics) is the use of any associations that allow you to link information to what is already in your memory. For example, in order to remember that the English “shriek” is translated as “squeal,” you can come up with some image based on consonance: for example, a screeching Shrek. There are no miracles, but this method will allow you to memorize 60 words per hour.

And here is the word "shriek". Source: thewire.com

When memorizing logical and structured information such as concepts, laws, theorems, book plots, the main thing is understanding, identifying cause-and-effect relationships and any other patterns. As a rule, we have to remember both logical and structured information and disjointed and abstract information within the same disciplines, so both understanding and use of mnemonics is necessary for effective learning. But no matter how you remember information, it will still be forgotten.

According to the Ebbinghaus curve, most of it will be forgotten within the first hours after memorization, and the rate of forgetting will decrease exponentially. Although its curve was based on memorizing abstract information, these principles are also true for structured information, which, although not so quickly, will still be forgotten. The most rational way to solve the problem of forgetting is to use the spaced repetition method. The essence of the method is to repeat information not every day/week/month, but at increasing intervals. Such repetition can be organized through special programs. For example, through Anki you can repeat any information by translating it into cards, and on LinguaLeo, spaced repetition is used to memorize foreign words.

At what time does memory work best?

According to the laws of retroactive and proactive inhibition, one memorized information overlaps another. That is, the brain needs some time after memorization to process the received data. This requires changes in schools and universities. Based on these laws, the best time to memorize is immediately after waking up and just before going to bed. The latter is also supported by the fact that the consolidation of short-term memory into long-term memory occurs during sleep.

Also, memory will work well after playing sports: there is both a lack of proactive inhibition and a consequence of physical activity. As for specific time periods, it cannot be reliably stated that, for example, from 8 to 12, memory works better. In my opinion, it all depends on the specific person, his regime and habits.

Schools, when we begin to study the circle and circumference. The number π is a mathematical constant expressing the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the length of its diameter. The number does not depend on the diameter of the circle and is constant. In numerical terms, π begins as 3.141592... and has an infinite mathematical duration. In everyday calculations, a simplified spelling of the number is used - 3.14.

Pi Day was first celebrated in 1988 at the popular science museum Exploratorium in San Francisco, and this unofficial holiday was invented a year earlier by San Francisco physicist Larry Shaw, who noticed that in the American system of recording dates (month /date) day March 14 - 3/14 - coincides with the first digits of the number π.

Experts believe this number was discovered by Babylonian magicians. It was used in the construction of the famous Tower of Babel. However, insufficiently accurate calculation of the value of “Pi” led to the collapse of the entire project. Perhaps this mathematical constant underlay the construction of the legendary Temple of King Solomon.

One of the first mentions of the number Pi can be found in the texts of the Egyptian scribe Ahmes (circa 1650 BC). The ancient Greeks, who borrowed a lot from the Egyptians, contributed to the development of this mysterious quantity. According to legend, Archimedes was so engrossed in his calculations that he did not notice how Roman soldiers took his hometown of Syracuse. When the Roman soldier approached him, Archimedes shouted in Greek: “Don’t touch my circles!” In response, the soldier stabbed him with a sword.

A fairly accurate value for the number Pi for his time - 3.146 - was obtained by Plato. Ludolf van Zeilen spent much of his life calculating the first 36 decimal places of Pi, and they were engraved on his tombstone after his death.

Also, the date on which International Pi Day is celebrated coincides with the birthday of Albert Einstein.

Scientists and mathematics enthusiasts love this holiday very much, celebrating it with a variety of physics, mathematics and culinary events. Cooking comes in very handy here - usually large round cakes are baked, and the whole team sits around a “magic” circle (usually with a “Pi” drawn in the center), eating and talking about the relativity of this unusual number.

So why memorize this “Pi”? For schoolchildren this is part educational process. For adults, this is a great opportunity to train your memory and surprise your friends. There are several ways to remember the number Pi.

The first is rhyme.

In order to remember the number Pi there is such a poem.

So that we don't make mistakes,
You need to read it correctly:
Three, fourteen, fifteen,
Ninety two and six.
Well, further you need to know,
If we ask you -
It will be five, three, five,
Eight, nine, eight.

(S. Bobrov "The Magic Bicorn")

The second is convenient structuring.

Let's divide what is written after the decimal point into the following groups: 3, (14 and 15) (926 - megaphone code) (535) (89 and 79) (32 and 38 in total seventy) (46 and 26) and so on. You can also highlight other groups, the main condition is that it should be easier for you to remember them. When structuring, it is better to immediately focus on one option, otherwise confusion may arise that will prevent you from remembering the number.

The third way is the length of words in a phrase.

This method is not the most convenient for quickly reproducing the PI number. But it is very effective if you need to remember by any means. The essence of the approach is that each digit of Pi corresponds to the number of letters in each word included in these phrases:

What do I know about circles? (3.1415). So I know the number called Pi - Well done! (3.1415926 - rounded). Learn and know the number behind the number, how to notice good luck! (3.14159265359). (Ya. I. Perelman)

What methods do you know?

Look for this and other interesting information on the pages of our PDF magazine, which you can download or print and read at any convenient time.

On this day one of the most unusual holidays is celebrated in the world. -
"Pi Day"

The number π is a mathematical constant that expresses the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the length of its diameter.
In numerical terms, π begins as 3.141592 and has an infinite mathematical duration.
In American writing, today's date looks like 3.14, hence the explanation for why this holiday is celebrated on this day.

According to experts, this number was discovered by Babylonian magicians. It was used in the construction of the famous Tower of Babel.

However, the insufficiently accurate calculation of the value of Pi led to the collapse of the entire project. It is possible that this mathematical constant underlay the construction of the legendary Temple of King Solomon.

It is significant that the holiday of Pi coincides with the birthday of one of the most outstanding physicists of our time - Albert Einstein.

What kind of number is this? The number pi attracted the attention of people back in prehistoric times, when they could not write down their knowledge, their experiences, or their memories. But, as the immortal Teffi wrote, “everything that concerns ancient times and about which we know absolutely nothing is called the prehistoric period.

Scientists know absolutely nothing about this period (because if they did, they would have to call it historical).” However, even then people became interested in the relationship between the circumference and its diameter.

At first, out of ignorance, it (this ratio) was considered equal to three, which was a rough approximation, but it was enough for them. But when prehistoric times gave way to ancient times (i.e., already historical), the surprise of inquisitive minds knew no bounds: it turned out that the number three very inaccurately expresses this ratio.
With the passage of time and the development of science, this number began to be considered equal to twenty-two sevenths, about which they even wrote a rhyme for memorization:

Twenty-two owls were bored
On large dry branches.
Twenty-two owls dreamed
About the seven big mice.

In Ancient Greece, the exact sciences flourished in an extraordinary way, and architecture also appeared. And where there is architecture, there are calculations. And the well-known Archimedes also clarified the meaning of the number pi, which was also told to us in verse by the wonderful writer S. Bobrov in his wonderful book “The Magic Twocorn”:

Proud Rome trumpeted victory
Above the stronghold of Syracuse;
But through the works of Archimedes
I'm much more proud.
You just have to try
And remember everything as it is:
Three - fourteen - fifteen -
Ninety two and six!

For simple everyday use, these signs are already enough.

How to remember Pi

Mnemonic rules

The most famous rhyme for remembering the number Pi goes like this:

So that we don't make mistakes,
You need to read it correctly:
Three, fourteen, fifteen,
Ninety two and six.

(S. Bobrov "The Magic Bicorn")

Rhymes in which the number of letters of each word sequentially coincides with the number from Pi will help you learn the value of Pi.

Here are some examples of such verses:

"Once at Kolya and Arina's
We ripped the feather beds.
The white fluff was flying and spinning,
Showered, froze,
Satisfied
He gave it to us
Headache old women
Wow, the spirit of fluff is dangerous!"

"I know and remember this perfectly,
But many signs are unnecessary for me, in vain.
Let's trust our enormous knowledge
Those who counted the numbers of the armada."

Another interesting option for remembering the number Pi is the Giordano system, built on figurative reproduction. Initially, you need to assign each number an image consisting of a pair of consonant letters.

0 – NM, 1 – GZh, 2 – DT, 3 – KH, 4 – ChShch, 5 – PB, 6 – ShL, 7 – SZ, 8 – VF, 9 – RC.

Let's try to remember the number Pi to the twentieth decimal place. Here it is - 3.14159265358979323846…

To do this, we first divide our numbers into two-digit numbers and write them in the form of letters. Then we will select words that contain one of the letters of each pair.