Pi and source of circle stuns experts
Daniel Bates
June 19, 2008 12:00am

It is – by any calculation – a creation stunning in its ingenuity.

Carved out in a barley paddock, this 50 metre-wide pattern is said to be a pictorial representation of the first 10 digits of pi, one of the most fundamental symbols in mathematics.

Believers in extra-terrestrials could argue it was made by mathematically minded aliens on a field trip to Earth.

Sceptics will think it the work of humans with a fondness for figures and a penchant for puzzles.

But whatever its origins, the experts say it is the most complex crop circle ever seen in Britain.

The pattern appeared this month near Barbury Castle, an Iron Age hill fort above the village of Wroughton in Wiltshire.

Initially, crop circle enthusiasts were stumped as to its meaning and even experts said it was mind-boggling.

Then retired astrophysicist Mike Reed saw a photograph of it and made the mathematical link.

He said the crop pattern clearly shows the first 10 digits of pi, which, many will remember from their schooldays.

Here is the full article.

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