A series of white concentric circles on a black background

Digits of Pi by Tom Bessoir and Joshua Pines

A transcendental visualization of pi, for Pi Day

Let your mind drift in the styles of Marcel Duchamp and Philip Glass

March 14, 2020

To mark Pi Day, March 14th, we wanted to do something a little differently. With that in mind, we wanted to share with you Digits of Pi, one of our favorite mathematical visualizations. We'll let the creator, Tom Bessoir, explain:

"A transcendental film!

Inspired by Marcel Duchamp's “Anemic Cinema,” I set out to create a film composed within a circular frame. This circular composition led directly to using the number pi for the underlying structure.

Having the digits of pi sung on the soundtrack is an homage to “Einstein on the Beach” by Philip Glass."

Enjoy.

If you're wondering about the Marcel Duchamp film this is a riff on, check it out here:

A transcendental visualization of pi, for Pi Day

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