Mixing Memorization and Mimosas in Honor of Pi Day
At Tech Square ATL (TSQATL) Social Club, we love a good reason to celebrate. And since Sunday, March 14 was Pi Day and Albert Einstein’s birthday, what better way to commemorate these holidays than to host our very first Math + Mimosas series – a great way to nerd out with other community members while catching up over complimentary adult beverages. So, in honor of such an occasion, we went to the Centergy One lobby during lunch last Friday to put the memorization skills of our community members to the test – all with a Pi theme, of course.
In order to receive the highly sought-after prize (an ice cold mimosa), attendees were tasked with seeing how many digits of Pi they could memorize in 30 seconds, with the notion that the average person can recall seven digits at one time. During the activation, we handed out personal cards that had the first 250 digits of Pi on one side, and on the reverse, a place to write their guess of how many digits they thought they could memorize, as well as what they actually could recall after the 30-second timeframe.
With our refs standing by with their trusty stopwatches in hand, we ensured the mathletes recorded their initial guess, took only 30 seconds to memorize as many Pi digits as they could, and lastly, notated their actual score.
Interestingly enough, “underpromise and overdeliver” was the name of the game for many. Even with the understanding that the average person could retain seven digits at a time, almost half of the attendees guessed they would only be able to recite three to six digits. That approach worked for the majority of the players though, with only 26 percent guessing they would be able to recall more than they actually could. Here’s how they fared:
Regardless of their standings, we deemed everyone a winner that day, rewarding them with a refreshing glass of champagne and orange juice – the true breakfast of champions. While sipping their hard-earned beverages, community members hung around to check out the competition and share their memorization strategies and techniques. Some claimed they recalled the digits by pretending they were addresses, others broke down the numbers into more digestible chunks. Even how people recited the numbers out loud were different, with a few people recalling groups of digits at a time, while others just rattled them off one-by-one.
All in all, it was quite an entertaining and insightful event. Our TSQATL community members enjoyed the mid-afternoon break at the end of the week and appreciated being able to geek out with other like-minded individuals. To learn more about upcoming events we’ll be hosting and how you can get access to such a curated community, check out our community calendar and membership options today!
How many numbers do you think you can recall at one time? Try it for yourself here and comment below with your score!