Xref: utzoo comp.compression:251 sci.math:16441 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!apple!agate!ucbvax!ulysses!allegra!fox From: fox@allegra.att.com (David Fox) Newsgroups: comp.compression,sci.math Subject: Re: Program for Calculating PI Message-ID: Date: 5 Apr 91 15:16:41 GMT References: <1991Apr3.014832.15021@linus.mitre.org> <1991Apr4.132101.9623@cs.dal.ca> <1991Apr4.150053.29873@linus.mitre.org> Sender: netnews@ulysses.att.com Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 16 In-reply-to: bs@gauss.mitre.org's message of 4 Apr 91 15:00:53 GMT In article <1991Apr4.150053.29873@linus.mitre.org> bs@gauss.mitre.org (Robert D. Silverman) writes: I don't know about everyone else, but the attitude implied by this last sentence frightens me. No wonder today's undergraduates are ill-prepared. The way to learn how to compute Pi is to study the math and the algorithms, not to look at someone else's code. This is pure arrogance. There is no "best" way to learn something, whatever way works for a particular person is the "best" way. Perhaps if we weren't so pedantic about how to learn things we would graduate more people who are talented in unconventional ways and fewer people who are mediocre in conventional ways. -david