Some mathematical nutter in 1897 came very close to persuading the Indiana Legislature to enact into a law a bill which would have, in essence, defined Pi as equaling 3.2.
Fortunately for Indiana's legislature, a genuine professor of mathematics was in the Statehouse on the day that the bill passed the Assembly. He was able to persuade some senators that the state legislature lacked the power to define mathematical truth. The professor was aided in his efforts by the press, which had caught wind of the Pi Bill and were having a lot of fun with the story.
The Pi Bill thus died in a state senate committee.
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2 comments:
In contrast to an 1818 case where the outcome defined whales as fish despite being presented with a mountain of scientific evidence to the contrary...
http://www.nycourts.gov/history/legal-history-new-york/legal-history-eras-02/history-new-york-legal-eras-maurice-judd.html
Actually, it was House Bill #246, and proposed to define PI=3, afaik :-)
I've linked to a history of approximations to PI today.
Happy Einstein's birthday, too!
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