What is e (2.718…) and why does it literally appear everywhere?

Question

What is e (2.718…) and why does it literally appear everywhere?

In: 756

Answer 1

lots of great answers. But in short – it’s the only number where the derivative of exp(x) equals exp(x). Or more visually, draw a line y = exp(x)
– The value at x is, by definition, exp(x)
– The slope at x will also be exp(x)
– The area under the curve from -infinity to x will be, you guessed it, exp(x)

There is only 1 number that does this. It’s E.