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Rational approximations: a basic approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2016

G. M. Phillips
G. M. Phillips*
Affiliation:
The Mathematical Institute, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland
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Extract

Last year I ran 1147 miles. Early in that December I had checked my ‘running total’ and found that it had already passed 1000 miles. I pondered on what might be an appropriate figure to aim at and toyed with 1040 miles (20 miles per week), 1095 miles (three miles per day) and 1111 miles (easy to remember). Finally, the combined dementia of runner and mathematician resulted in the choice and achievement of 1147 miles, chosen to give the closest possible daily average to π miles. The quotient 1147/365 exceeds π by about 0-0009.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 67 , Issue 442 , December 1983 , pp. 247 - 250
Copyright
Copyright © Mathematical Association 1983

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References

1. Heath, T. L., The works of Archimedes, Cambridge University Press (1897).Google Scholar
2. Phillips, G. M., Archimedes the numerical analyst, Amer. Math. Soc, 88, 165 (1981).Google Scholar