A new book titled φ, π, e & i, by Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics Dave Perkins, was recently published by MAA Press. It is Perkins’ second book published in the Mathematical Association of America’s Spectrum series.
Perkins first taught a course titled “φ, π, e & i” in 2004 – the syllabus was essentially a nested puzzle that Perkins says no one has yet solved.
The book, based on that course, introduces and connects four constants (φ, π, e and i), each of which has recently been the individual subject of historical and mathematical expositions. It is designed to be read by undergraduates who have taken calculus.
Perkins describes the book as “a bunch of lovely results that connect four famous numbers that show off what calculus can do.”
Calculus and Its Origins, Perkins’ first book in the Spectrum series, was a bestseller when it was published in 2012.
