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| Meta Title | What makes an equation beautiful? – Physics World |
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| Boilerpipe Text | By James Dacey
Earlier this year I wrote about a
psychology experiment
that revealed that mathematicians appreciate beautiful equations in the same way that people experience great works of art. In the experiment, which conjures up a slightly comical scene, mathematicians were hooked up to a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine and asked to view a series of equations. When the subjects looked at equations they had previously rated as beautiful, it triggered activity in a part of the emotional brain associated with the experience of visual and musical beauty. The formula most commonly rated as beautiful in the study, in both the initial survey and the brain scan, was Euler’s equation,
e
i
Ď€
+ 1 = 0
.
Inspired by this study, we have put together this infographic to dissect the Euler identity and try to understand why so many mathematicians are enamoured with this little equation. Let us know what you think of the infographic and what you think are the most beautiful equations. Either post a comment below this article, or let us know on
Twitter
using the hashtag #BeautifulEquations. |
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# What makes an equation beautiful?
14 May 2014 [James Dacey](https://physicsworld.com/author/james-dacey/)
**By James Dacey**
Earlier this year I wrote about a [psychology experiment](http://blog.physicsworld.com/2014/02/13/beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-mathematician/) that revealed that mathematicians appreciate beautiful equations in the same way that people experience great works of art. In the experiment, which conjures up a slightly comical scene, mathematicians were hooked up to a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine and asked to view a series of equations. When the subjects looked at equations they had previously rated as beautiful, it triggered activity in a part of the emotional brain associated with the experience of visual and musical beauty. The formula most commonly rated as beautiful in the study, in both the initial survey and the brain scan, was Euler’s equation, **e*i*π\+ 1 = 0**.
Inspired by this study, we have put together this infographic to dissect the Euler identity and try to understand why so many mathematicians are enamoured with this little equation. Let us know what you think of the infographic and what you think are the most beautiful equations. Either post a comment below this article, or let us know on *Twitter* using the hashtag \#BeautifulEquations.


[James Dacey](https://physicsworld.com/author/james-dacey/) is a multimedia journalist based in Madrid
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| Readable Markdown | **By James Dacey**
Earlier this year I wrote about a [psychology experiment](http://blog.physicsworld.com/2014/02/13/beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-mathematician/) that revealed that mathematicians appreciate beautiful equations in the same way that people experience great works of art. In the experiment, which conjures up a slightly comical scene, mathematicians were hooked up to a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine and asked to view a series of equations. When the subjects looked at equations they had previously rated as beautiful, it triggered activity in a part of the emotional brain associated with the experience of visual and musical beauty. The formula most commonly rated as beautiful in the study, in both the initial survey and the brain scan, was Euler’s equation, **e*i*π\+ 1 = 0**.
Inspired by this study, we have put together this infographic to dissect the Euler identity and try to understand why so many mathematicians are enamoured with this little equation. Let us know what you think of the infographic and what you think are the most beautiful equations. Either post a comment below this article, or let us know on *Twitter* using the hashtag \#BeautifulEquations.
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