The history of the mathematical symbol pi mirrors the most seminal, the most solemn, and the most fatuous perspectives of arithmetic. A reasonably immense amount of time has been supplied to pi, having some of the greatest mathematicians mankind has ever known contribute to its discovery. Pi is one of the few math concepts that draws a response from everyone; students, teachers, professionals, and every-day people alike. .
Pi has been a crucial part of the evolution of mankind for more than twenty five hundred years. It began with a verse in the bible speaking of the grand temple of Solomon constructed in 950 BC. Directly or otherwise, it states that p = 3. Although this was an inaccurate value, it showed that the estimation of pi was in question from the pre-Christ era. .
As Civilization progressed, and great philosophers, thinkers, and races were born, the value of pi was expanded on. Egypt and Mesopotamia have been credited with the hypothesis that pi was equal to 25/8 or 3.125. Closely following Mesopotamia and Egypt's estimation, came the Native Americans. They offered the proposition that pi was equal to the square root of ten, otherwise known as 3.162. Although none of these values were very accurate, they depicted mankind's progress and the enigma of pi to civilizations far before ours. .
The first theoretical calculation was proposed by a philosopher, Archimedes of Syracuse. He lived between 287 and 212 BC. His approximation of pi was not an exact value, but a series of inequalities. He philosophized that 223/71 * p * 22/7. He knew what so many people of the present day era do not, he knew that pi was not equal to 22/7 but was in between the fractional values 223/71 and 22/7. His closest estimation, existing as 3.1418, was only off by an estimated .0002. Archimedes solution was arrived at through complex trigonometry, which he had no solid algebraic and trigonometrical notation for.