What if mathematics were not merely a subject to pass, but a beauty to love?
In e — The Engine of Lawful Becoming, John Rector invites first-year college students into one of the most elegant ideas in all of mathematics: Euler’s identity. Beginning with the famous equation (e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0), this book turns symbols into living ideas and shows why (e) is not just a constant, but the natural engine of growth, change, and lawful becoming.
Through clear explanations, intuitive examples, and a light narrative thread, students encounter zero as completion, (i) as the number that lets mathematics turn, and (e^{ix}) as the expression that draws the circle itself. The result is a math book designed not merely to inform, but to awaken delight.
If this book succeeds, students will leave with more than a better grasp of calculus and Euler’s identity. They will leave with something rarer: a genuine affection for mathematics.
About the Author
John Rector is the co-founder of E2Open, acquired for $2.1 billion in May 2025, and a teacher, writer, and thinker with a deep interest in mathematics, philosophy, and artificial intelligence. He wrote this book to help students not only understand math, but love it.