Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World

by Matt Parker

I like to imagine the Microsoft spokesperson delivering their reply in a press conference while someone behind the scenes has to physically restrain the Microsoft Access team, which is an actual database system. Through the walls can be heard muffled cries of “Tell them to use a real database LIKE AN ADULT.”

I’m still always worried that I’ve missed thinking about a certain case or nuance. To be honest, I’d be a lot better at poker if I looked up from my calculations and noticed the other players; they could be sweating profusely and I’d not notice, as I’m too busy trying to estimate what “52 choose 5” is.

Here’s one final story involving the pound, but in this case we’re looking at a smaller fraction of the pound: the grain. In the apothecaries’ system of weight units, a pound is divided into 12 ounces, which each consist of 8 drams. A dram is then 3 scruples, each made from 20 grains. I hope that made sense. A grain is one 5,760th of a pound. But not a normal pound: this is a troy pound. Which is different from a normal pound. And people wonder why the metric system was invented.