When John Sims contemplates a number, he sees color and shape. And an intriguing, enigmatic number such as pi, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, conjures up vivid patterns that belong on quilts.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/5841.jpg?resize=300%2C105&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/5842.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/5843.jpg?resize=300%2C283&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/5844.jpg?resize=300%2C258&ssl=1)
Starting with 3.14159265, the decimal digits of pi run on forever, and there’s no discernible pattern to ease the task of compiling (or memorizing) these digits. Computer scientists have so far succeeded in computing 1,241,100,000,000 decimal digits of pi.