Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 22-7-2022 —Pi Approximation Day

22nd July, 2022.

It’s Friday: a day that looks like it’s going to rain.

I hope it does: we could do with it!

Saying that … ?

I’m very aware that the BBC’s weather service has been saying it’s going to rain since Tuesday!

Heigh … ho!

~≈💧≈~

OK … 

I’ve made another of my slightly off-beat unboxing videos.

The backpack … ?   Is now officially unpacked and hanging off my front door: ready to go at a moment’s notice.

The phone … ?   Is still in its box: I need an extra power block, I think.

And will have to read the instruction manual: the thing can block numbers, which will come in handy, block scam calls.

I’ve ALSO managed to get hold of the Classic Dr Who’s season 22 box set.

I was hoping Katy Manning would be in the Behind the Sofa watch-alongs: she’s usually fun to watch!

But apparently not.   It’s Wendy Padbury, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton (Zoe, Tegan and Nyssa), this time.

Which should be equally as good: the last time I saw the three of them, it was handbags at twenty paces … and utterly hysterical … !

~≈Â≈~

JUST as a last thought … ?

I mentioned the phone, there: ordered in part, because it can block numbers.

But it also marks the fact I’ve got a new landline and internet contract with BT.

I’ve managed to get onto their Home Essentials package, aimed at those of us on Universal Credit.

It’s pretty much the same deal I’m on: with extra free minutes.

And half the price I was paying.

That should help the money situation.

~≈☏≈~

π: Blimey … !

You know, I can honestly say that it’s not that often I’ve seen a Darren Aronofsky film.

Honestly.

I think the last one was the thoroughly enjoyable, Natalie Portman vehicle, Black Swan.

So his work is something I’ve not seen a lot of, to be frank.

Until last night, that is.

Last night … ?   Last night, I managed to rent π* from the iTunes Store.

I don’t know if you’ve seen i: but I came away rather impressed … 

~≈Â≈~

π follows the day to day life of Max Cohen, played by Sean Gullette.   Max is an obsessive number theorist who suffers some incredibly painful headaches, in between bouts of work on his theory that patterns can be observed in unexpected places: his particular hobby-horse is trying to find the patterns in the sheer chaos of the rise and fall of the Stock Market.

Until one day, he finds his purpose built server, Euclid, crashing, after picking out a seemingly random 216 digit number.

With one stock market prediction at a very low, nonsensical, value.

It’s only when, the next day, he finds that prediction is bang on the literal money, that he consults an old Maths mentor, Sol — Mark Margolis — who advises Max of two things.   That the number could well be meaningless.

And that he — Max — should take a break.

Something Max ignores: especially when he mets a young Hasidic Jew called Lenny, who tell hims a little of the ancient number searches involved in the ancient branch of Jewish mysticism he follows: and mets Marcie, a Wall Street broker who’s extremely interested in Max ’s work.

Offering an extremely powerful processing chip for his computer.

It’s only when Max uses that chip, and finds his system crashing again, that things go wrong: and his headaches get worse … 

~≈Â≈~

Now … 

Did’t I just have a whale of a time with this … ?

Lordy, didn’t I just … ?

π is a very surreal little psycho-thriller, one that had me thinking loving of the work of William Gibson: someone who’s been a favourite author for some years.

It’s pacey, intriguing, and, giving a focus on some hard science aspects of number theory, WITHOUT alienating a lay audience, great fun to watch.

I enjoyed it: I think you will too.

π
★★★☆

*        OK, OK, it’s called Pi … !