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E: The Story of a Number
by
Eli Maor
The interest earned on a bank account, the arrangement of seeds in a sunflower, and the shape of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis are all intimately connected with the mysterious number "e." In this informal and engaging history, Eli Maor portrays the curious characters and the elegant mathematics that lie behind the number. Designed for a reader with only a modest
...morePaperback, 227 pages
Published
March 1st 2009
by Princeton University Press
(first published 1994)
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Il pi greco lo conoscono tutti o quasi; ma non è il solo numero "molto interessante" per i matematici. Secondo a ben poca distanza c'è infatti il numero e, che vale circa 2,718 e appare anch'esso nei punti più diversi della matematica; dal calcolo dell'area sotto un'iperbole a quello degli interessi composti, dai logaritmi alle funzioni trigonometriche. Nella sua bella collana a basso prezzo che recupera varie opere di storia della matematica, la Princeton University Press ha recuperat...more
Maor's account of the place of e, the base of the natural logarithms, in the history of mathematics provides a peek inside a mathematician's brain. More connected by mathematical ideas than by chronology or the usual social, cultural, economic, or political themes taken up by historians, Maor's book opened vistas in the calculus I did not see when I first ploddingly confronted derivatives and integrals some decades ago. He thoroughly covers the differing views of Newton and Leibniz as they dev...more
One hundred and thirty pages into Eli Maor’s history of Euler’s number (e), Maor experiences what can only be described as a "John Nash moment". Here he departs from his straight-laced account to describe, at length, an imagined conversation between J. S. Bach and Johann Bernoulli.
Bernoulli: That perfectly fits my love for orderly sequences of numbers.
Bach: But there is a problem. A scale constructed from these ratios consists of three basic intervals: 9:8, 10:9, and ...more
Bernoulli: That perfectly fits my love for orderly sequences of numbers.
Bach: But there is a problem. A scale constructed from these ratios consists of three basic intervals: 9:8, 10:9, and ...more
This one didn't really work for me. It wasn't really readable as a story -- the math was too dense, the narrative too thin. On the other hand, there wasn't much math that I didn't already know from teaching first-year calculus a bunch of times.
Still, it was interesting reading Maor's summary of the whole Newton/Liebniz kerfuffle (of course I knew there had been one, but I'd never read about it in detail before). And it was neat seeing how Newton's notation worked. Plus, the stuff...more
Still, it was interesting reading Maor's summary of the whole Newton/Liebniz kerfuffle (of course I knew there had been one, but I'd never read about it in detail before). And it was neat seeing how Newton's notation worked. Plus, the stuff...more
OK, so books on math, not going to become national best sellers by any stretch of the imagination. But any story in the field of math be it zero, 'e,' Phi, PI tells us more about that mystical, insightful language that can tell us so much about the why's and what's of our surroundings, as well as provide the more practical to suit our human needs. Math is interesting in the sense that it dictates to the mathematician not the mathematician to it to determine outcome. ie: in string theory, the mat...more
I recently gave a speech in my Toastmasters club titled "The Power of e." I have always had a little place in my heart for this irrational, transcendental number. This speech gave me the chance to talk about the origins of e and where we can find evidence of it in our lives. After the speech, one of the club members told me about this book. I checked it out and really quite enjoyed reading it.
It is not a really light read, but it is easy enough for anyone who has studie...more
It is not a really light read, but it is easy enough for anyone who has studie...more
A impressively thorough discussion of the role of 'e' in mathematics. I liked that the content was a bit more mathematically-grounded than most pop-math books, without ever getting dense. The variety of content is pretty remarkable. My only complaint was that some of the content relates to 'e' in only a roundabout manner and could have been done away with (for instance, there's a bit too much emphasis on the rational for and history of calculus).
really well presented overview of how we came to learn about and appreciate e. some highlights:
* history of logarithms
* description of bernoulli's logarithmic spiral
- showing how the spiral can be used to represent musical notes
* explanation of hyperbolic sines and cosines
i wish the book had gone into a little more detail about the relationship of e with complex numbers.
* history of logarithms
* description of bernoulli's logarithmic spiral
- showing how the spiral can be used to represent musical notes
* explanation of hyperbolic sines and cosines
i wish the book had gone into a little more detail about the relationship of e with complex numbers.
I think I would have enjoyed this book more had I had more than a years old, rudimentary knowledge of logarithms. Still it was interesting, although a lot of the equations were outside my knowledge level.
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This book really shows the history of math from the invention of logarithms to today. It is a very fasinating history book about a number that is not fully appreciated.
Another pop-math book. I gave this one to my Mom when I was done with it, and I think she (history major) liked it too, if that's any recommendation.
The history of e was amazing. The mathematics was interesting, but got too deep for me near the middle of the book.
Better than the average pop. math book. History not just of e but of calculus (they're intertwined).
A most interesting number in a book that I enjoyed reading. Those who love trascendental numbers will enjoy it, too.
My favorite chit-chatty book about math. d(e^x)/dx = e^x. Deep beauty.
very technical. lots of proofs. interesting but slow reading and complex
History of e and logarithms. Okay, but could have been more, I think.
Read the 1994 version - it was great for a geek like me.
Super interesting but big nerd material. Definitely requires some knowledge of calculus and an interest in math... but otherwise very fascinating!
Good book for math freaks.
There is a great deal of fascinating historical information in this book. I recommend it in particular to anyone who has just taken calculus, or remembers it fairly well. A knowledge of calculus is not necessary to enjoy the book, but those who are acquainted with the subject will appreciate some of the mathematics more. This book is not for those who dislike mathematics or don't remember high school math at all.
Not as entertaining as other 'popularizations' of math and math history, but somewhat educational without being a textbook. I found helpful ideas on natural logs, series expansion tricks, and multidimensional thinking.
I liked this better than many of the math-themed books I've read, but I think that's because I've been so much more involved in math since I started teaching. There's so much I'd forgotten about, but now that I'm teaching it, I understand these books a lot better. I really liked the way this book explained logarithms, and I liked all the historical tidbits. Definitely not for non-mathematicians though.
This book talks more about the history of math than it does specifically about the number e, but that was just fine with me. The downside, though, was how inadequate it made me feel at times. Once upon a time, I knew smart(ish) math things, but it's been so long, that I've forgotten most of it! Argh!
ajp3
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone interesting
Recommended to ajp3 by:
kazimitsu tarui
great little book about the number e. the mathematics is not complicated, but must be understood to fully enjoy this book. lots of insight here, should be required of all trigonometry/algebra/calculus students. (well it would be at least extra credit for my class if I were to teach one)
I enjoyed this exploration of e even though the math rapidly required more skill and comprehension than I retain from 3rd semester calculus 44 years ago. Chapter 14 was almost beyond the pale. The history, biorgraphies, and philosophy made it worth the upstream struggle.
I must say, for two historians, these two did a wonderful job describing the history and derivation of e in a very simplistic form. I would highly recommend this for those that are curious to truly understand the this important number.
Another surprisingly interesting math book. e and I are on much better terms now.
A must read for any person who loves math
so much potential..
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