Edwin Weyburn Goodwin Paintings

Edwin Weyburn Goodwin is not a figure commonly known in the annals of art history, but rather in the realm of amateur mathematics. Born in 1869, Goodwin was an American physician and amateur mathematician who made an unusual foray into legislative overreach with his attempt to legislate the value of Pi (π), the mathematical constant that represents the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. His life and endeavors reflect the peculiar intersection of mathematics, law, and a profound misunderstanding of mathematical principles.

Goodwin resided in Indiana and practiced medicine, but his interests extended beyond his professional field. He was captivated by the problems of squaring the circle, a mathematical puzzle that involves constructing a square with the same area as a given circle using only a finite number of steps with compass and straightedge. Despite the problem being proven impossible in 1882 by Ferdinand von Lindemann, who showed that π is a transcendental (and thus non-constructible) number, Goodwin believed he had solved it.

In 1897, Goodwin authored a bill that became infamous as the Indiana Pi Bill. He proposed this bill to the Indiana General Assembly, offering his 'solution' to the problem of squaring the circle, which included legislating a specific value for π. The bill, written in confusing and error-ridden terms, suggested alternative values for π, including 3.2. Goodwin's proposition was not based on sound mathematical reasoning but rather on his own flawed methodologies. He offered to allow the state of Indiana to use his 'discovery' freely, provided his approach was accepted and taught in the state.

The bill almost passed, largely due to the lack of scientific understanding among the legislators. It passed in the Indiana House of Representatives but was eventually stopped in the Senate, thanks to the intervention of Professor C.A. Waldo, a mathematician who happened to be present and informed the senators of the bill's mathematical absurdity. This event has since been cited as a classic example of the folly of attempting to legislate scientific facts and the importance of scientific literacy.

Goodwin's life after the incident remains relatively obscure, with his death recorded in 1949. Despite his earnest efforts, his name has become synonymous with the misguided attempt to legislate the value of π, serving as a cautionary tale about the limits of legislative power over empirical truths. Edwin Weyburn Goodwin's story is a curious footnote in the intersection of mathematics, legislation, and the pursuit of impossible dreams.