# So, on a Mac, PI + PI = 6 ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 9, 2008, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843 "2008-01-09T10:23:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/1 "2008-01-09T10:23:14Z")
I’m terribly sorry if this fits within the bounds of help-me-fix-my-computer threads but I need to make sure I am not crazy. On Mac OS 10.4, Intel, whipping up the calculator app, jumping into scientific mode and entering PI + PI = returns 6. Yes, just 6. On the other hand, PI \* 1 + PI = gives 6.28318530718. My question is thus: am I insane or are Apple developers using Bible-based code? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/2 "2008-01-09T10:48:00Z")
Apple does everything so _neatly_. Are you sure there isn’t some integer math thing switched on somewhere in your calculator app? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/3 "2008-01-09T10:50:04Z")
I guess it defaults to rounding to zero decimal places, in which case pi + pi does equal 6. Or the Apple developers are big Bob Shaw fans [/obscure sci-fi reference]. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/4 "2008-01-09T11:06:37Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Apple does everything so _neatly_. Are you sure there isn’t some integer math thing switched on somewhere in your calculator app? [/QUOTE] I thought this was the OP being insane, but I tried it on mine, and woah, same thing. But PI\*2 gives the correct result, or if I do PI+PI and then go to the “notepad” function (don’t know what it is in the English version, the French version calls it a “paper band”) and tell it to recalculate totals, PI+PI gives the correct answer… How odd… ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/5 "2008-01-09T11:21:34Z")
[QUOTE=jovan] My question is thus: am I insane or are Apple developers using Bible-based code? [/QUOTE] Any time you run into a situation like that it’s because Steve knows better than you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/6 "2008-01-09T11:25:19Z")
Decimals are like sharp corners. We rounded them off because it looked nicer. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/7 "2008-01-09T11:31:07Z")
I think you found a genuine bug. I get the same result on a PowerPC system. pi + pi = 6 3.14159 + 3.14159 = 6.28318 pi - 3 = 0 pi \* 2 = 6.28318530718 pi / 2 = 1.570796326795 I normally use an HP-48GX emulator on my Mac, so I’ve never bothered using Apple’s calculator app. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/8 "2008-01-09T11:45:31Z")
Application-specific bug. [QUOTE=Calculator+] 3.141592653589793 + 3.141592653589793 = 6.283185307179586 * * * [/quote] ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/9 "2008-01-09T11:47:04Z")
Sounds like the sort of thing Apple would be quite keen to patch - how does one go about submitting bug reports? ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/10 "2008-01-09T12:07:18Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Sounds like the sort of thing Apple would be quite keen to patch - how does one go about submitting bug reports? [/QUOTE] I’m submitting a bug report to Apple. [http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html/](http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html/) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/11 "2008-01-09T12:11:27Z")
Cool. ---
**Author:** ![Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tyrrell_mcallister/32/16772_2.png) [@Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tyrrell_McAllister)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/12 "2008-01-09T13:09:30Z")
Wow. That’s pretty shocking. Although Calc isn’t so important an app as [Excel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Excel#Excel_2007_display_issue), it wouldn’t surprise me to see some harsh public criticism in the blogosphere over this. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/13 "2008-01-09T13:35:42Z")
No bug in 10.5. ---
**Author:** ![SiouxChief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@SiouxChief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiouxChief)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/14 "2008-01-09T14:06:45Z")
I was about to type a “Works for me” post but after trying it a few times saw the issue. Playing around, I figured out how to get an answer of “6” and how to get an answer of “6.28…”. If I do a different floating point operation, such as Pi \* Pi, and then do Pi + Pi right after that _without hitting the C button_, you’ll get the correct answer 6.28… But, if I hit the C button first, then Pi + Pi will show 6. I don’t often use the C button which explains why I didn’t see the issue at first. I’m on OSX 10.4.11, PowerPC. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/15 "2008-01-09T14:43:47Z")
[QUOTE=jovan] My question is thus: am I insane or are Apple developers using Bible-based code? [/QUOTE] The Bible says Pi = 3? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/16 "2008-01-09T14:54:57Z")
[QUOTE=Xema] The Bible says Pi = 3? [/QUOTE] Not really, no. Bible literalists would have you believe otherwise, based on a reading of First Kings, 7:23-26: > [@](#): > > And he [Hiram] made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one rim to the other it was round all about, and…a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about…And it was an hand breadth thick… However, if you apply a little [logic](http://www.purplemath.com/modules/bibleval.htm#pi), you actually arrive at a fairly good approximation of _pi_. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/17 "2008-01-09T15:23:12Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] Not really, no. Bible literalists would have you believe otherwise, based on a reading of First Kings, 7:23-26: [/QUOTE] Isn’t it actually the case that it’s not the bible literalists, but their critics/mockers who started that PI=3 thing? - and like the ‘Jesus Horses’ thing, it later got attributed to the fundies? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/18 "2008-01-09T15:24:25Z")
> **[Alabama's Slice of Pi](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/alabamas-slice-of-pi/)** > > Did the state legislature of Alabama redefine the value of pi according to Biblical precepts? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/19 "2008-01-09T15:30:36Z")
Apple pi bugs? Why those are as American as Mom and… something. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843/20 "2008-01-09T15:30:57Z")
My calculator app doesn’t even have pi. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-on-a-mac-pi-pi-6/432843.md?page=2)