This Friday, 14 March, is much loved by geeks for two reasons. Firstly, Albert Einstein was born 14 March 1879. Secondly, given that Americans write the date March 14 or 3.14*, it is also known as Pi Day, tying math and genius together. To honour both, here are five killer facts each about Einstein and π.
* You might remember from high school maths, a common approximation was to use 3.14 for π.
5 killer facts about Albert Einstein
1. He won a Nobel, but not for what you think
While his famous observation about mass and energy, E = mc², is universally known, Einstein actually won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for the photoelectric effect. This work showed light can knock electrons off metals, a key moment in the earliest days of quantum mechanics.
2. The most famous scientist ever?
By definition, this is a tough claim to verify precisely, but the vast bulk of 'most famous' or 'most popular' scientists feature the big E. Certainly Arthur Sasse’s snap of Einstein en route to his 74th birthday, poking his tongue out in exasperation at being asked to smile for the camera yet again, is one of 20th-century pop culture’s most iconic images.
3. How special was his brain?
After his death in 1955, Einstein’s brain was extensively studied. While it had some features that maybe suggested above average spatial skills and memory formation, opinion is split as to whether it was in any way ‘special’. You can check out a small chunk of it yourself if you’re ever near the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, USA.
4. It’s all relative - reshaping time and space
Einstein’s 1905 theory of Special Relativity connected space and time. By showing that time itself slows at high speeds (time dilation) and mass-energy equivalence (E = mc²), he reshaped our most fundamental understandings of the universe. The GPS function on your phone is using Special Relativity (and its big brother General Relativity) right now!
5. It’s still all relative - spacetime is curved!
Einstein’s 1915 theory of General Relativity showed that gravity was not an invisible force pulling on everything. Rather it is a curving or warping of spacetime. He was so far ahead of his time that while we were able to confirm the bending of light by gravity almost immediately, it took a century to design an instrument sensitive enough to confirm one of Einstein’s predictions; namely gravitational waves.
5 killer facts about π for Pi Day
1. Pi is forever irrational
Pi (π) is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, roughly 3.14159. In fact, it’s irrational, meaning its decimal never ends or repeats. It begins with 3.1415926535… and keeps going on, literally forever. This quirk makes π endlessly fascinating, a number no calculator can pin down, perfect for geeky obsession on March 14!
2. It’s everywhere in nature
Pi pops up in circles, waves, and even spiralled seashells. From planetary orbits to ripples in a pond, π describes nature’s curves. And we find it in thousands of ‘non-curvy’ contexts, like the factors of randomly chosen numbers. It’s a universal constant, tying geometry to the cosmos. Which is why math nerds adore it, and why Pi Day feels so cosmic on 3/14!
3. Calculated to trillions of digits
Humans have computed π to over 100 trillion digits using supercomputers, a feat for testing tech limits. Yet, you only need 39 digits to draw a circle around the observable universe, accurate to the width of a hydrogen atom—about 0.1 nanometers. NASA, for instance, often uses π to just 15 decimal places for interplanetary navigation.
4. Pi inspired ancient minds
The Egyptians and Babylonians approximated π over 4,000 years ago, using 3.125 or 3.16 in calculations. Archimedes refined it to somewhere between 3.1408 and 3.1429 in 250 BCE. This timeless number has puzzled and inspired mathematicians for millennia, making Pi Day a celebration of eternal human curiosity.
5. Really Adam, March 14!
And for any of you thinking, “Hey, March 14 is so American and awfully unAustralian!” don’t fret. On 22 July (that’s 22/7 or the fraction you used to approximate π in high school) we’ll be celebrating an Aussie Pi Day!
That’s all from me for now. If you'd like more geeky fun, please check out my other newsletters below, or connect with me on LinkedIn and/or X.
Yours in nerdiness,
Adam
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