Re: Loss of Mars Climate Orbiter due to units of measurment conf

[Keith Thompson <kst@cts.com>]

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gisle@lunde.ii.uib.no (Gisle S�lensminde) writes:
[...]
> Even worse. In according to an old Norwegian translation of Guinness 
> book of records, they decided it to be exactly equal 4.0 The record was 
> "the most unprecise estimate of pi". I don't have the book at hand now,
> so I can't give further details. 

This is *way* off-topic, but you can find more information in Petr
Beckmann's book "A History of pi".  In 1897, "A bill introducing
a new Mathematical truth" was introduced in the Indiana House of
Representatives.  The bill was full of internal contradictions;
one could conclude from the first paragraph that pi = 16/sqrt(3), or
about 9.2376.  After going through the committees on Swamp Lands and
Education, the House passed the bill 67-0.  Fortunately, a mathematics
professor happened to be visiting the state Senate on the day the
bill came up for debate there (after going through the Committee
on Temperance).  On his recommendation, further consideration of the
bill was postponed indefinitely.  It hasn't been on the agenda since.

-- 
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith) kst@cts.com  <http://www.ghoti.net/~kst>
San Diego Supercomputer Center           <*>  <http://www.sdsc.edu/~kst>
"Oh my gosh!  You are SO ahead of your time!" -- anon.