People Think It ’s an Interesting Coincidence That Stephen Hawking Died on Pi Day

Some people on the internet think Stephen Hawking couldn’t have calculated a better day to die.
The 76-year-old theoretical physicist, one of science’s most famous luminaries died on March 14, also known as National Pi Day — an annual day for scientists and mathematicians around the world to celebrate the value of pi that even includes deals on pizzas and actual pies. Suffice it to say that the noteworthy coincidence was not lost on the internet.
The date of Hawking’s death — 3/14 — is significant because 3.14 are the first three digits of pi, a bedrock of geometry. Specifically, it’s the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Naturally, the fact that science’s big celebration overlapped with the day the life of the party left us is making people geek out about the details.

As soon as news spread that Hawking died early Wednesday morning in London, people were quick to to connect the dots.

Stephen Hawking was #OldSchoolCool. He would pass away on #PiDay. pic.twitter.com/1OCoYk5U8O
— Arturas Kerelis (@arturaskerelis) March 14, 2018

ON #PiDay 2018, I join @Perimeter & the world in sadness & express condolences to family and colleagues as we say goodbye to Stephen Hawking. Just like Pi never ends, your amazing mind has left our planet an endless legacy which you kindly shared with #WRAwesome and the world! pic.twitter.com/dbUYfT1Ngt
— Berry Vrbanovic (@berryonline) March 14, 2018

...

Source: TIME: Science - March 14, 2018 Category: Science Authors: Ashley Hoffman Tags: Uncategorized onetime Science viral Source Type: news