Volunteers needed for Pi Day 2024

As many of you will know: I calculate pi a ridiculous way ever year for Pi Day on 14 March. Odd years involve a physical experiment whereas even years feature a tedious calculation by hand. And wouldn't you know it: 2024 is going to be an even year.

The plan is to break the 'world record' for most digits of pi calculated by hand, which is currently 527. But whereas that was calculated by one human over several years in the 1800s, we're planning to use over a hundred people calculating simultaneously over five days in 2024.

If you'd like to volunteer to do near-endless amount of long division, have I got an opportunity for you!

Location: Lambeth Assembly Hall in London, UK
Dates: Wednesday 14 to Sunday 18 February 2024

Wednesday is a set-up and admin day. This will involve setting up the room and doing some of the foundation calculations that need to happen first but don't require many people. We will need far fewer volunteers on this day but do let us know if you're interested in helping then.

Thursday through Saturday are the main calculation days. This is when we will need all calculating humans on deck. You can volunteer for some or all of these days. No problem if you can only drop by for one day, and it's great if you want to do all three.

Sunday is the wildcard day. We're hoping it will be just final calculations, maybe squeezing out a few more digits, and then the grand finale summation to give pi. But we could also be up against the clock to get the required number of digits if everything takes longer than we expected. Then we need to pack down the kit and clear the room.

Don't worry if it has been a long time since you did any long division. We will send out a 'training pack' closer to the date with instructions and practise calculations which you can complete to get up to speed. The video from 2022 will also give you an idea of what to expect, but imagine many more people: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtiLxLrzjOQ

We sadly cannot cover any travel or accommodation costs, as with over a hundred people involved that would explode the budget. And the budget is partly provided by, you guessed it, you. And I like to use your funding studiously.  So we will provide lunch on all days and apart from that, volunteers get to hang out with me, Matt Parker. And really, isn't that the real prize.

Finally you need to be 18 years old or over as of 14 February 2024 and have a can-do attitude. It's going to be quite the undertaking, but we will be making history. (Or at least making a great youtube video.)

To nominate yourself and confirm which days you can volunteer for please do complete this form. I ask a bit about yourself, please do add the keyword "patreon" in there.
https://forms.gle/f8T2RmqUUD2CLh3m8