Beauty of Mathematics

Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty — a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture, without appeal to any part of our weaker nature, without the gorgeous trappings of painting or music, yet sublimely pure, and capable of a stern perfection such as only the greatest art can show. The true spirit of delight, the exaltation, the sense of being more than Man, which is the touchstone of the highest excellence, is to be found in mathematics as surely as poetry-- Bertrand Russel.
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Sunday, 3 November 2013

The Most Beautiful Formula



                                 


This article is all about a well known Mathematical formula involving e, π and i .

                      eiπ + 1 = 0

It appeals equally to the mystic, the scientist, the philosopher, the Mathematician.

A poll of readers conducted by The Mathematical Intelligencer named Euler's identity
(eiπ + 1 = 0) as the "most beautiful formula in mathematics".



What is so beautiful about this formula?


It relates five of the Most Important Numbers in the World (0, 1, e, i, and pi) using three of the Most Important Operations in the World (addition, multiplication, and exponentiation) and nothing else. Beauty, simplicity, elegance–All in one Formula!. These vital numbers and concepts also crop up in branches of Science, Engineering, and Technology. All these ideas in just a few squiggles - if that's not beautiful, what is?!

Ø  The number 0, the additive identity.
Ø  The number 1, the multiplicative identity.
Ø  The number  π, a transcendental number, ubiquitous in Trigonometry, Geometry and Analytical Mathematics
Ø  The number e, a transcendental number ,which occurs widely in Mathematical and Scientific analysis
Ø  The number i, the imaginary unit of the Complex Numbers.
Stanford University mathematics professor Keith Devlin has commented on the above Formula:, "Like a Shakespearean sonnet that captures the very essence of love, or a painting that brings out the beauty of the human form that is far more than just skin deep, Euler's Equation reaches down into the very depths of existence."

At a deeper philosophical level the equation does teach us to ensure coexistence of entirely different Religions/Cultures/Countries/Languages/People in beautiful and harmonious manner as shown by the diverse numbers 0,1,e, i and π!

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