Tlackamas Print
Commentary 3
Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2005
student Our most pointless debate
Poll
Our writers face off on the question of pi vs. pie
Vhat do you
Forget flavor, pi is
look forf
far more useful to
ward to at
humanity
lanksgiving?
ize that the earliest known written
approximation of pi came from an
Egyptian scribe, or that a Chinese
mathematician calculated pi to the
first three decimal points in 263
AD. How many texts concerning
pies date from back then?
It may sound pompous, but pi’s
just more important than baked
goods. There’s a reason Martha
Stewart never gets research grants,
and it’s not for lack of trying. It’s
just a sad fact that there hasn’t
been a major breakthrough in pie
research since the discovery of the
“toothpick test”
Perhaps most telling, though, is
the feet that pi is infinite, while pie
is all too fleeting.
So forget this Thanksgiving
pie nonsense. Rather, focus your
thanks on the awesome power
of pi because, while your
mind will expand by
its influence, your
waist
will
not
I GJ Ciaramella
II Ite Clackamas Print
“Dinner with
■& family, all
y
being in one
place at the
BM same time, and
■FI cooking with
lilial my mother.”
Kasey Hall
“Football
and turkey!”
Much attention is paid to pie dur
ing the Thanksgiving season; apple
pie, pumpkin pie, and all other vari
ants. But this is a travesty, for people
forget the true and infinitely superior
pi.
No, not fruit encased in a baked
crust I speak of the mathematical
constant — the ratio of a circle’s cir-
cumpherance to its diameter 3.14 ad
infinitum. The list of reasons that pi
is more worthy of our adoration than
its fruit-filled homonym is almost
as long as pi itself but for the sake
of brevity, this argument will only
touch on a few.
First, consider the application
of pi. Einstein used it in his field
equation of general relativity, it also
makes an appearance in Euler’s
identity (called by Richard Feynman
“the most remarkable formula in
mathematics”), which postulates that
eAi7t +1=0. Notice that it does not
read e'Xapple crisp) +1 = 0.
Second, consider the proper
ties of pi. It is transcendental,
irrational and not constructible.
Furthermore, pi is not a physi
cal constant and therefore
not affected by the shape of
the universe, whereas pie will
directly affect the shape of your
hips.
And third, remember that people
have been contemplating the mys
teries of pi almost as far back into
history as we can trace. Few real-
Close your math
book and give it up
for succulent pie
. AndyZehrung
11
The Clackamas Print
Though it’s a mathematic abnor
mality with profound geometric uses,
pi is a sad substitute for pie.
On a purely physical basis, pie
exists and pi doesn’t As warm or cold
as one’s preference may dictate, pie
can hardly be substituted by a mere
numeric representation.
The credit for pi’s discovery can
only be given to a Greek name forgot
ten by history. People gather around at
the county
lair for a pie contest, not a pi contest
People also won’t have their friends
asking them how lhey make such a deli
cious strawberry pi.
Another quality that pi lacks that pie
boasts is variability. Though pi has an
endlessly changing numeric representa
tion, it lacks the ability to change that
representation to fit tastes. Fractional or
decimal, that’s hardly variety.
The different personal touches dif
ferent bakers add to make their pies
unique makes the variability of pie not
only appealing to a laiger variety of
people, but its variation is a lot more
comprehendible.
The importance of pi is irrefut
able. However, to non-mathematical
persons pi is simply another feet
Engineers and math instructors use pi
for their career, the rest of the world
just knows that the first few digits
of pie are 3.14. Since that is as for as
¡1st people’s minds need cany the
lumber, everyone else can enjoy
pie while they wait for their math
ematician friend to calculate the
circumference of the pan.
Pie is not only a delicious
treat we can all enjoy, but
it is also a dessert to which
the country owes its original
settler’s lives too. After all,
had it not been for the pump
kin pie, the Puritans wouldn’t
have had anything to bring to
the table. The lack of sweet,
delicious pie might have caused
the natives to nip the English
phenomenon in the bud, spreading
te Croatoan phenomenon beyond
anoke.
Therefore it is to pie, not pi, that
! United States owes its success,
ming one’s back on pie would be
ison and should be punished by fir
ing squad. Besides, people don’t get to
see enough firing squads these days.
Understanding the reviled midterm move
Kimberly Maier
Kimmy Carier
||1V
I “No school
■■ ) ■ and lots of
J a sleep.”
Shkurinsky
This week's poll
compiled by
Joe Piazzisi
StaH|
M
H
■I
gfi
We mistakenly
ran the wrong
photograph for
Ashley Marchi
in last week’s
student poll.
We appologize
for the error.
The Clackamas Print
In the middle of the term, the last
thing any student wants is to arrive
at class - barely on time - only to
discover that the lecture has been
moved to another building.
Yes, many of us have become
victims of the midterm move, and
it can be very inconvenient, espe
cially if the class has been moved to
another area of the campus.
The phenomenon of the midterm
move is mystifying. It comes with
out warning, does not discriminate
between departments and is a thorn
in the side of every student who
plans their class schedule with time
and location in mind. But the ques
tion remains: why does this occur
and how can we avoid it?
According to Naomi Sether,
Science department secretary, the
decision to move classes is some
times the instructor’s preference.
“Sometimes, the instructor’s pre
ferred room is not available at the
beginning of the term, so when it does
become available, due to low enroll
ment, there can be a room change.”
Convei sely, when enrollment is too
high, the class has to be moved to
accommodate more people.
Another issue that can cause a
class to be moved is the medical con
dition of an instructor or student
“In the Barlow building, they
have the automotive department;
certain folks have sensitivities to the
fumes,” said Beth Hodgkinson, divi
sion secretary for Humanities. “It
gives some people headaches.”
In addition to instructor’s prefer
ence and allergen issues, the college
has to be sensitive to the needs of
disabled students. Clackamas cur
rently employs ‘accommodation
specialists’ who work with students
to make sure that all needs are met
and a safe environment for learning
is provided.
“It would be awful if you have
a disability and can’t make it to
class. We try to be aware of the stu
dents’ feelings and make the transi
tion as smooth as possible,” stated
Hodgkinson.
Division secretaries are respon
sible for arranging classroom
changes. But before you go out on
C o -E ditors - in -C hief : Ben Maras,
Clackamas Print
James Tombe
C opy E ditors : Katie Weinberg, E. E.
19600 S. Molalla Ave.
pegon City, OR 97045
1(503) 657-6958 ex. 2309
I *he C uckums ftint is a weekly
L student publication and is
Fmbuted every Wednesday except
finals week.
West
N ews E ditor : Katie Wilson
C ommentary E ditor : Laura Cameron
F eature E ditor : C.J. Ciaramella
S ports E ditor : N. P. Delzell
A&E E ditor : Jadon Triplett
P hoto E ditor : Jeff Sorensen
A d M anager : Sam Krause
A d A ssistant : Megan Cline
S taff W riters : Frank Jordan,
a secretary witch hunt demanding
to know why you must now find
a new ‘magic’ seat to sit in during
your psych class, keep in mind that
the midterm move is most often
employed to benefit the students.
Letters to the editor
I have just read [Elizabeth
Hitz’s] thought-provoking editori-
al on torture. I would like to point
out that a recent article in The
Oregonian also dealt with this
topic. As a teacher of the English
language, I need to make students
aware of tire manipulative lan
guage involved in definitions of
torture. Specifically, I was angry
when I read that prisoners of war
are considered for torture tech
niques just by changing their titles
from “prisoner of war” to “enemy
combatant” This is manipulative
language. It allows the executive
branch way too much power in
detennining such cases.
I noticed in your most
recent edition of The
Clackamas Print ... the
gentleman pictured [on
page five] is [not] John
Lewis; it is Neil Robbins
of Clackamas County Water
Environment Services.
Other thain that, I enjoyed
Megan Koler’s comments
and hope that you all con
tinue to do a great job on
Clackamas Print.
Ginny Van Loo
Member, Clackamas Com
munity College Budget
Committee
Diane Averill
English Instructor
P roduction A ssistants : Megan
Koler, Tayo Stalnaker, Kyle
Steele, Jesse Arguello
Matthew Olson, Tayo" Stalnaker,
Courtney CXByme, Mike Giùdice,
Jimi McDonnell, Gabe Stone, Joe P hotographers : Andy Zehrung
Piazzisi, Megan Koler, Kimberly D epartment A dvisor : Linda Vogt
Maier, Elizabeth Hitz, Adam J.
D epartment A ssistant : Pat Lichen
Manley
G oals : The C lackamas Print aims
to report the news in an honest,
unbiased, professional manner.
The opinions expressed do not
necessarily reflect those of the stu
dent body college administration,
its faculty or The Print. E-mail
comments to chiefedOdackamas.
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