Why Did Euler Choose 'e' for His Famous Chain Theorem?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the reasons behind Euler's choice of the letter 'e' to represent the base of natural logarithms in his mathematical work. Participants explore the implications of naming conventions in mathematics, particularly in relation to egotism and attribution of credit. The conversation touches on historical context and Euler's character.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Historical
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants argue that mathematicians do not typically name concepts after themselves, suggesting that this reflects a broader issue of egotism in the field.
  • Others point out that names are often assigned posthumously by others, which can lead to misattributions.
  • One participant notes that Euler introduced the notation 'e' in a letter to Goldbach in 1731, and later provided a detailed treatment of it in 1748.
  • There is speculation that the choice of 'e' may relate to the word "exponential," although this is not definitively established.
  • Some participants emphasize Euler's modesty, suggesting that his character may have influenced his choice of notation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the implications of naming conventions and the motivations behind Euler's choice of 'e'. There is no consensus on the reasons for the choice or the broader implications of naming in mathematics.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference Euler's historical contributions and the context in which he worked, but there are unresolved questions regarding the motivations behind his notation and the nature of mathematical naming conventions.

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Mathematicians do not name things after themselves. This is doubly true if the idea to proven can be done so (or if it can be disprioven) from elementary calculus (and is a special case of something extant). So, how about stopiing the rampant egotism?
 
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'rampant egotism'...


'Orion1' is not my name. It is the name of a stellar constellation.

As for the elimination of 'rampant egotism' from science, do we really want to discuss that type of philosopical hyperbolae, do we? :biggrin:
 
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The names given to theorems are never given by the person so named. Other people name them after the person who invented them, and occasionally they get it wrong, when it becomes clear that it is important, needs some distinguishing label and the oringator deserves credit for somethnig clever. There are two notorious trolls on sci,math who grandiloquently name (incorrect) mathematical 'theorems' after themselves. It should have been apparent that you weren't in that mould, sorry.
 
Euler, who first introduced the number e=2.71... used the letter e.
He probably claimed it came from exponential... yeah right :-p
 
Egotism..

the notation e made its first appearance in a letter Euler wrote to Goldbach in 1731. He made various discoveries regarding e in the following years, but it was not until 1748 when Euler published Introductio in Analysin infinitorum that he gave a full treatment of the ideas surrounding e.

Euler gave an approximation for e to 18 decimal places
e = 2.718281828459045235

Yes, that is definitely [tex]\sum[/tex]gotistical... :biggrin:
 
the fact that exponential starts with an e (and not an S) mightn't also have something to do with it?
 

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