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edited Sep 4 2011 at 11:38

Buffon(Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon; 1707 – 1788) is a towering figure in biology.
As a mathematical hobbyist he invented geometric probability theory.
His method of calculating $\pi$ by throwing pins on a floor ruled by parallel lines and recording in how many the number of throws in which the pin crosses one of those lines must surely count as one ot the most extraordinary ideas ever in mathematics.

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answered Sep 4 2011 at 8:46

Georges Elencwajg
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Buffon(Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon; 1707 – 1788) is a towering figure in biology.
As a mathematical hobbyist he invented geometric probability theory.
His method of calculating $\pi$ by throwing pins on a floor ruled by parallel lines and recording in how many throws the pin crosses one of those lines must surely count as one ot the most extraordinary ideas ever in mathematics.