On 1 Jun 2001, at 10:49, Neven MacEwan wrote:
> WARNING: Do NOT calculate Pi in binary. It is conjectured that this
> number is normal, meaning that it contains ALL finite bit strings.
>
> If you compute it, you will be guilty of:
>
> * Copyright infringement (of all books, all short stories, all
> newspapers, all magazines, all web sites, all music, all movies, and
> all software, including the complete Windows source code)
> * Trademark infringement
> * Possession of child pornography
> * Espionage (unauthorized possession of top secret information)
> * Possession of DVD-cracking software
> * Possession of threats to the President
> * Possession of everyone's SSN, everyone's credit card numbers,
> everyone's PIN numbers, everyone's unlisted phone numbers, and
> everyone's passwords
> * Defaming Islam. Not technically illegal, but you'll have to go
> into hiding along with Salman Rushdie.
> * Defaming Scientology. Which IS illegal -- just ask Keith Henson.
But hold on. Surely the encoding is irrelevant? After all, the music
industry is going to do you for piracy even if that song you put into
.mp3 was originally a .wav, right? And even if you wrapped some
irrelevant digits around the encoding and then tried to pass it off
as a mathematical constant, I don't think that would impress the
RIAA.
So, given the word "Pi", or the symbol for it, is a valid
encoding/representation of the infinite length binary string, I think
the MPAA and RIAA might be having a few harsh words with those maths
textbook publishers - as soon as the Supreme Court is stacked the
right way.
Seth.
=======================================================
Seth Wagoner, WebFoundry Ltd. Christchurch, New Zealand
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://webfoundry.co.nz
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