Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Discipline Of History And The “Modern Consensus In The Historiography Of Mathematics”, Michael N. Fried

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Teachers and students of mathematics often view history of mathematics as just mathematics as they know it, but in another form. This view is based on a misunderstanding of the nature of history of mathematics and the kind of knowledge it attempts to acquire. Unfortunately, it can also lead to a deep sense of disappointment with the history of mathematics itself, and, ultimately, a misunderstanding of the historical nature of mathematics. This kind of misunderstanding and the disappointment following from it--both raised to the level of resentment--run through the paper "A Critique of the Modern Consensus in the Historiography of …

EΠi + 1=0: The History & Development, Dawne Charters-Nelson

Undergraduate Review

I have on occasion run across the equation in books, articles and in conversation with other mathematicians. In each of these encounters the person alluded to a fascination with this equation which links the five most important constants in the whole of analysis:

• 0 = The additive identity
• 1 = The multiplicative identity
• π = The circular constant
• e = The base of the natural logarithms
• i = The imaginary unit

Being a novice mathematician, I wondered how all these fundamental constants could end up in one equation and what it meant. Along with this thought came the realization that …