A Piece of their Pie
The tinge of intrigue, the taste of victory, the pain of defeat. For close to 75 members of the Math Club and their guests, Pi Day is an epic quest for mathematical, as well as digestive, domination. 3.14159 (etc...), revered for its infinite mystery and natural frequency, is the reason why Math Club revelers are celebrating “a bad approximation” of pi on a snowy Friday afternoon. Though typically celebrated on March 14 at 3:14 p.m., the Math Club decided to settle with the inaccuracy of celebrating on March 12th at 3:12 p.m. because March 14th falls on a Sunday this year.
Math Club Social Co-Chair Richard L. Rivero ’04 smiles widely as he explains the rationale behind the mania. “Pi is the most frequently occurring number in higher math. The digits in the decimal expansion of pi don’t obey any patterns.”
The Pi Day festivities, now in their fourth year, consist of a pie-eating contest and a highly anticipated pi recitation contest. Despite a lineup that includes four of Harvard’s most arguably voracious mathematicians, no one counts on the stunning upset from first-time competitor and eleven-year-old New Hampshire resident Ryan Heden, who dominates the recitation competition with a stern, focused rendition of 387 digits of pi. “I just memorized [the digits],” Heden boasts matter-of-factly. However, memory alone can’t carry him through the pie-eating contest—the pint-sized champ respectfully abstains from the second challenge.
The eating competition is the culmination of a two-day training marathon for J. Patrick Coyne ’07. “I haven’t eaten anything in the past two days except for apple pie,” Coyne, who is also a Crimson editor, says while waiting for the results. “It was just the pie and me out there.”
However, despite his best efforts, third-year graduate student Erick A. Matsen is announced as the winner over a dramatic piano overture, having consumed 807.5 grams of apple pie in three minutes and 12 seconds. Matsen attributes his win to stellar mental preparation. “I actually was a runner-up last year but I hadn’t gone in believing in myself. This year, I just believed in myself,” Matsen says. However, he admits later that mental preparation is only one element of his carefully crafted battle plan. “For lunch I had half a pound of sautéed collard greens. It takes up a lot of room but passes through your system quickly,” he divulges.
Though the number pi goes on forever, unfortunately, the Pi Day festivities must come to a close. Though some may come for the pie, for others, it’s about the glory of victory and the celebration of an enigmatic numeral that literally, as well as proverbially, makes the world turn. “It’s interesting because of pure fascination,” Rivero confides. We’re in awe, alright.