Pie and Pi

I’m driving Little One to her first sleep-over, when she asks me, “Daddy, what’s your favorite number?”

Ah! Now there’s a question I can dig into. However, I always like to keep her on her toes, so I never answer her questions in a way she can expect. After a moment’s pause, I say,

“Pi.”

“Pie?” She crinkles her nose. “That’s not a number!”

I clear my throat. “Indeed it is. It’s the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, represented by the Greek letter pi. It appears in all sorts of mathematical relationships in the physical world. It’s three-point-one-four-one-five-nine and it continues on for millions and millions of digits.”

Ten seconds go by in silence.

“Pick another number.”