Mediated Pi: Creating and Discovering
I have been pondering mediation and computing. Since today is March 14 (3.14) let’s investigate how media and computing can relate to each other since much of computing is about processing and computing numbers. It is only appropriate to have this conversation on Medium, the singular form of media. Media make a difference in how we think. Can it affect how we think about Pi?
Computing is the mathematics of information — both the process-based flow of data and the process itself. At the heart of mathematics and computing is number. It is no surprise that when we are young, we spend lots of time learning symbols (1, 2, 3, …). We also learned how to count, but the formalization of counting is not usually done in mathematics unless one brings in the mathematical progeny of computer science: you need to make a counting machine, even if only in mathematics and on paper. Counting numbers is a process and much of Computer Science revolves about representing process (and data).
Pi is one of our favorite numbers: 3.14159… It is irrational since, by that word, there is no ratio of whole numbers where one can represent Pi. We see Pi’s role in geometry when we learned that Pi is the ratio of the circle’s circumference to its diameter. Pi has a connection to circles and parts of circles (i.e. arcs). But a quick thought experiment leads one to understand that when a circle grows in radius, it approaches a line.
Ok, so we all love Pi and its relation to a circle — and to a line. What about media?
Everything is mediated. The image above represents a digital image, which in reality is located on disk storage — perhaps on NAND-based flash memory. The image is also shown on your screen. In this instance, a medium is based on a material. Sometimes, people use the word “medium” to reflect a category of technology — for instance print media, paper media, social media, film media. Or media may reflect a type of communication, such as mass media. Or media can reflect materiality (e.g., the artist’s medium).
Consider media as guiding representation. The choice of representation is limited by the physical medium. If my media is the substance clay, then that limits how I can represent Pi, or anything else for that matter. I have always enjoyed Martin Krzywinksi’s design work where the medium is a poster:
But this way of mediating Pi captures only one way of thinking about mediation. Here is what I mean:
This is a photograph of the mist tower that is very near to my office. Note the concentric circles near the base of the pool, and the large circular cutout at the top. Due to its circular attributes, this is also Mediated Pi. Except that, this Pi is a sort of interpretation of the mist pool area. I look at it, and think of Pi.
We can make Pi or we can sense it. These are two complementary ways of knowing: creating and discovering. This idea is at the heart of media — it can involve seeking-out, analyzing, and interpretation. Or media can be centered on making, creating, synthesizing.
To return to the point of the article — why are media important? Media reflecting Pi, or anything else, are important because the medium affects the message. For Marshall McLuhan, the medium is the message. Whether or not you believe that, the media do shape our understanding of things — even Pi.
What is the mediation doing, exactly, to us or for us? It may improve teaching or learning Pi. It may promote creativity. We need lots of scientific research to get an answer. But we also need lots of design and art so new media forms are put into public spaces.
