> > > Bill No. 246, Indiana State Legislature, 1897, was introduced
> > January 19, 1897.
The existence of the bill to modify pi seems to be well-substantiated. The standard distortion is to try to link it with a supposed desire to mandate pi=3 based on the measurements of the Sea in Solomon's temple. I know of no documented example of such a misuse of the Temple description, and the bias in the History of Pi is so strong that the author would certainly have reported any such attempt that he could find. The Indiana bill was based on the work of a mathematical crank. It claimed that the state would benefit in timber sales.
Dr. David Campbell
Old Seashells
University of Alabama
Biodiversity & Systematics
Dept. Biological Sciences
Box 870345
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0345 USA
bivalve@mail.davidson.alumlink.com
That is Uncle Joe, taken in the masonic regalia of a Grand Exalted Periwinkle of the Mystic Order of Whelks-P.G. Wodehouse, Romance at Droitgate Spa
Received on Fri Nov 26 15:50:49 2004
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