What are you working on? Kindle Scribe
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows.
$6.28
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
FREE delivery Tuesday, May 26 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Saturday, May 23. Order within 2 hrs 5 mins. Join Prime
In Stock
$$6.28 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$6.28
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Shipper / Seller
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Shipper / Seller
Amazon.com
Returns
FREE 30-day refund/replacement
FREE 30-day refund/replacement
Quick refund
Usually issued within 24 hours. See exceptions
FREE return
At least one free return option available.
Convenient dropoff
At any of our 50,000 US locations.
See return policy
Gift options
Available at checkout
Available at checkout This item is a gift. Change
At checkout, you can add a custom message, a gift receipt for easy returns and have the item gift-wrapped
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

  • The Tau Manifesto: No, really, pi is wrong

Follow the author

Get new release updates & improved recommendations
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Tau Manifesto: No, really, pi is wrong Paperback – June 28, 2010

5.0 out of 5 stars (34)

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$6.28","priceAmount":6.28,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"6","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"28","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"XJ5xbI1hSS3J%2FGOjsIbXbR%2FH0nMaHPkb%2BL5Qp32vUhvKVqWCGSg5vtB5oTJWoyaAZFVr1bORPtxVLtRDJvd0OshNrOjmn3UQUMUa7YDSCksF8NWRxzn8%2FdrRS7GWZRYVCMVn5tysH6KXkKJSEj963A%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

The Tau Manifesto is dedicated to one of the most important numbers in mathematics, perhaps the most important: the circle constant relating the circumference of a circle to its linear dimension. For millennia, the circle has been considered the most perfect of shapes, and the circle constant captures the geometry of the circle in a single number. Of course, the traditional choice for the circle constant is π (pi)—but, as mathematician Bob Palais notes in his delightful article “π Is Wrong!”, π is wrong. It’s time to set things right.
Sponsored

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B096CXMQ3W
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 28, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 55 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8506098348
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.13 x 9 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #1,724,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 out of 5 stars (34)

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Michael Hartl
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Michael Hartl is a physicist and entrepreneur. He is the author of over a dozen books, including Learn Enough Python to Be Dangerous and the Ruby on Rails Tutorial, and was cofounder and principal author at Learn Enough (acquired 2022). He is also the founder of Tau Day and author of The Tau Manifesto. Previously, Michael taught theoretical and computational physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching and served as Caltech’s editor for The Feynman Lectures on Physics. He is a graduate of Harvard College, has a Ph.D. in Physics from Caltech, and is an alumnus of the Y Combinator entrepreneur program.

Sponsored

Customer reviews

5 out of 5 stars
34 global ratings
Sponsored

Top reviews from the United States

  • 5 out of 5 stars
    ¡ τ > π !
    Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2021
    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    This book explains why a better CircleConstant is τ =c/r ≅ 6.283185307179586. Interestingly, the book also costs 6.28 U$D.

    8 people found this helpful
    Sending feedback...
    Thank you for your feedback.
    Sending feedback...
    Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.
  • 5 out of 5 stars
    Everything was fine.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2021
    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Everything was fine.

    Sending feedback...
    Thank you for your feedback.
    Sending feedback...
    Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.
  • 5 out of 5 stars
    Trigonometry? Fixed.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2021
    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    In math class, it always felt a bit dissatisfying that a circle was 2pi and that pi was only half a circle. This fixes that! Everything makes so much sense. I also like how it elegantly lines up with 360 degrees… a 12th of a circle is a 12th of tau is a 12th of 360 degrees and so on. Makes you understand why the Babylonians picked such a highly composite number for their circle. Maybe our base-10 system is also erroneous and could use some fixing too…. (Here’s to hoping for a sequel!)

    2 people found this helpful
    Sending feedback...
    Thank you for your feedback.
    Sending feedback...
    Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.
  • 5 out of 5 stars
    This is one to LOVE
    Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2021
    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Short and sweet, as is typical with Michael's stellar prose.

    Since having been introduced to Tau by his work, I have

    actually USED tau on occasion. It's handy when woodworking,

    for example, to figure out the length of an arc. REALLY handy.

    That's something I NEVER did with PI. I learned it in school, but

    it never made enough sense to actually USE it. Tau is different.

    :__)

    One person found this helpful
    Sending feedback...
    Thank you for your feedback.
    Sending feedback...
    Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.
  • 5 out of 5 stars
    It's a really tau-ll order to get me to like math.....
    Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2021
    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Having read this book I am now tau-ler and no longer pi-eyed :)

    Sending feedback...
    Thank you for your feedback.
    Sending feedback...
    Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

Top reviews from other countries

  • 5 out of 5 stars
    Lifesaver; Tau is superior than pie.
    Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on July 15, 2022
    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Tau is truly the best. Learn the math and science problems from this very book. It will help at british curriculum Edexcel and BTEC science and maths. Very useful.

    Sending feedback...
    Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.
  • 5 out of 5 stars
    Great mathematical topic to discuss with kids!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 19, 2024
    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    I’ve celebrated both Pi Day (March 14) and Tau Day (June 28th) for years. But thinking logically, Tau makes a lot more sense; though changing from Pi to Tau would change the constants in the circular area, spherical volume equations, and binomial expansions for trigonometric ratios, but that is a small price to pay in terms of use of the basic circumference to radius equation. Personally, I blame the diameter for getting in the way and setting the value of Pi, before people settled on the radius.

    Great mathematical topic to discuss with kids!
    5 out of 5 stars
    Great mathematical topic to discuss with kids!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 19, 2024

    I’ve celebrated both Pi Day (March 14) and Tau Day (June 28th) for years. But thinking logically, Tau makes a lot more sense; though changing from Pi to Tau would change the constants in the circular area, spherical volume equations, and binomial expansions for trigonometric ratios, but that is a small price to pay in terms of use of the basic circumference to radius equation. Personally, I blame the diameter for getting in the way and setting the value of Pi, before people settled on the radius.

    Sending feedback...
    Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.
  • 5 out of 5 stars
    Worth twice its weight in pie
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2021
    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Best addition to my sitting room table! Having a book to prove the argument is serious makes all the difference. Now I'll finally be able to make my imaginary guests come around to the same side. Truly revolutionary!

    Sending feedback...
    Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.
  • 4 out of 5 stars
    A bit maths heavy
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 1, 2024
    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    But I agree with the message

    Sending feedback...
    Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.