AskMastodon: I'm reading Ada's Algorithm, and in it the author mentions pi, without actually saying "pi". He takes like three sentences to explain (paraphrasing) "this basic mathematical ratio is the ratio of the diameter of a circle to its circumference, and starts with 3.14159 and continues infinitely..." So, what's up with that? Is there a good reason for not just saying "pi"?
@daveprovost they were being paid by the word? or maybe a (misguided) attempt to make it easier for a lay audience?
@selenized Yeah, maybe. If it was an attempt to make it easier, it severely backfired, as I had to read the paragraph 5 times to make sure I wasn't missing some important reason he wasn't calling it pi. I legitimately thought for a minute that maybe they don't use the term pi in Britain.
@daveprovost could be a stylistic flair to emphasize the state of science and mathematics at the time of Ada's work. Based on some googling: the π symbol and name Pi weren't in wide use by mathemeticians until 1750s, less than 100 years before Ada's first program