Question:
Can God change the value of pi?
Jean-Francois
2011-12-08 01:46:53 UTC
Assuming God exists and he is capable of all things.

I am leaning toward no. Pi is a constant that relies on a specific definition of what a circle is. To change the value of pi would be to change the definition of a circle, or something else. But whatever closest equivalent God can make to change the value of pi would require different conditions to happen and a different definition of what a circle is.

I think it's like asking if God flipped a coin that only had heads or tails, then can it land on a third option that is not its side (where it stands up). I don't believe God is capable of doing this because it does not make sense and is inconsistent.

If God made a binary computer like we make them, and the only options are 1 and 0 for each bit, he is unable to make a 2 as well and also call it a binary computer. He is definitely able to make a third bit, which would be a 2, but it is then a trinary computer.
Nine answers:
CogitoErgoCogitoSum
2011-12-08 01:53:21 UTC
Pi isnt the value we think ti is anyway.



Pi is defined as the ratio between the circumference and the diameter of a circle... in Euclidean space.

This means that pi is defined for circles existing in flat space.



Pi can take other values, depending on what type of space you apply it in. Pi=2 in Spherical geometry. So on.



But then Einstein proved that space is curved - that is, the actual space we live in, the universe itself.



Naturally the question arises, in my mind anyway, as to whether or not 3.141592653589 79323846... is the appropriate value for how (where) we apply it. In this curved-space universe, could the actual value of pi be different than the theoretical, on-paper value of pi?



Space is curved to varying degrees, and caused by masses and who know what else. Its clear that the precise curvature of space, however curved it may be, is not a constant throughout the universe. I must conclude that pi is not a constant, and in fact varies depending on location.



As for your inquiry about God. I believe that any creator can change his creation. The ability exists for any omnipotent being. However, being omni-benevolent, I doubt he would manipulate the universe. It would, in fact, be a lie and a deception to force a change in reality that is not justifiable by the rules of physics He has already set forth.



=====

Jean... yes, I think a lot of people, particularly in the atheistic community, confuse science with atheism and vice versa. The assumption that *just because* we humans can see patterns and derive properties and extrapolate theories (the essence of science and reason), that somehow this detracts from God. Suppose God did, at every moment, guide reality to play out as it does. Suppose there were no natural laws set into motion so long ago by God or by anything else, that reality plays out directly as God wills it. Gods will, then, would be indistinguishable from the natural laws. It is then his conscious effort that derives what we call science today, despite the fact that everything is a miracle. We as humans become callous to the miracle of existence simply by over-exposure, we take for granted all that we are used to and all that we think we know. Much of science is theory, unproven. Much of science is based on extrapolation and leaps in reasoning. A theory can never be proven, only disproven. The mentality that science is proof of atheism is absurd and irrational. Regardless of what causes the universe to play out as it does, the fact that it does repeatedly undergo the same predicable cause-effect relationships is what we call science, whether directed by God or set into motion by God long ago, or whether God is not even in the picture. People have said that there is room in science for a God. True as that may be, it is also an over-simplification of the real issue; that science is not necessarily distinct from God.
Anthony
2011-12-08 09:54:51 UTC
If you believe in God and believe she is omnipotent, then of course she can change the value of pi.

The universe would be different that's all.

Same with the coin - she just makes the universe a place with 4 physica dimensions where a coin can have three sides.



You can say that God can't make a weight so heavy she can't pick it up, and then pick it up, but equally you can just argue yes she can, by definition.
anonymous
2011-12-08 09:52:00 UTC
God is the one who made pi and everything. So if he is the one who made it, then definitely he can change it. Same thing for the bits. The available options are 1 and 0 for each bit, and this is from God not by us.



In conclusion, God can make anything that is out of your imagination.
anonymous
2011-12-08 09:49:40 UTC
God can do everything He wants and human mind cannot fathom His actions. But God respects the law of nature even though sometimes His grace intervenes and goes beyond human nature.
anonymous
2011-12-08 10:03:34 UTC
God can change the value of pi, one day, you recite c pi as 314.1592654 and didn't realize it changed.
?
2011-12-08 09:53:02 UTC
yes
Shilton
2011-12-08 09:48:27 UTC
Hmm...Only if you ask politely..
?
2011-12-08 09:50:11 UTC
no
Jay Udani
2011-12-08 09:50:01 UTC
pls dont ask such freaky qts................


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