Monday, April 16, 2007
Happy Birthday, Leonhard Euler
Yesterday was Leonhard Euler's 300th birthday. Happy birthday! to one of the most prominent and prolific mathematicians this world has ever seen. In my mind, one of the most unique characteristics about Euler was that he was how normal he was outside of his genius. Most great mathematicians seemed burdened by their genius in how it affected their lives outside of their profession - indeed, many of them had psychological or social difficulties (ever see the movie "A Beautiful Mind"?). But Euler seemed to escape all of that; his remarkable contributions were all the more unique in how unremarkable the rest of his life was.
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I have never ceased to be amazed with Euler's Identity:
e^(i*Pi) + 1 = 0
A friend of mine, who describes himself as "a poor agnostic", finds this formula so facinating that he believes that this is an indirect proof of the existence of God. It's so complex and yet so simple that this equation couldn't have come about by a mere coincidence. I love to share the beauty of this formula with anyone will listen. I've showed it to Mary before, so you can quiz her to see if she remembers.
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