Madhava of Sangamagrama

The question I wish to answer is why BBP formulas are so much better at calculating pi than any other method that came before it. I find it interesting that this method only provides the exact digit of pi in question and does not require the calculation of any of the previous digits of pi. For all of the methods that proceeded it like the polygon approximation and infinite series methods, each digit was required to be calculated before the next one could be found. Another compelling fact is that this avenue of calculating pi has been hypothesized as the key to discovering whether pi is truly random or not. Though it is still unproven as of now so I don’t expect to make any breakthroughs myself, uncovering more about this topic interests me…