Pi

In elementary school, I learned 60 digits of pi by memory. I’m not sure why — I think I was just the type of kid who would do that kind of thing (perhaps I still am the type of kid who would do that kind of thing), so I decided to do it.

It’s a bit of a pointless mental challenge that’s a cool fun fact for other people once and then becomes forgettable.

I remember using a website that would sing the digits of pi to you whenever you opened it, because it was easier to remember them when there was a song and rhythm to the digits. Kind of like how the alphabet is taught to a song, because it’s more palatable that way.

That was elementary school. But the crazy thing? I still remember those digits now. I can still recite 60 digits of pi.

It’s not like I’ve continued practicing those digits. I remember maybe once or twice a year that I have them memorized, recite them just to check that I’ve still got it, and then move on. Somehow, they’ve just stayed in my memory, despite the fact that my memory is really not great.

Perhaps it has something to do with learning something at a young age, and it just becomes imprinted into the folds of your brain like a language you’ve spoken since birth. I’m not sure.

But in any case, the digits of pi are still up there somewhere. I can probably count on one hand the things I have retained from elementary school, and this is one of them. Plus, I still recite pi with the same rhythm as that website that sang to me a decade ago.