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I have a question about the irrationality of $e$:

In proving the irrationality of $e$, one can prove the irrationality of $e^{-1}$ by using the series $e^x = 1+x+\frac{x^2}{2!} + \cdots + \frac{x^n}{n!}+ \cdots$ So the series for $e^{-1}$ is $s_n = \sum_{k=0}^{n} \frac{(-1)^{k}}{k!}$ so that $0 < e^{-1}-s_{2k-1} < \frac{1}{(2k)!}$ or $0 < (2k-1)!(e^{-1}-s_{2k-1}) < \frac{1}{2k} \leq \frac{1}{2}$ If $e^{-1}$ were rational then we would have a difference of two integers which is not an integer (i.e. between $0$ and $\frac{1}{2}$).

Question: Is this "irrationality of $e^{-1}$ by alternating series" proof what motivated the definition of irrationality measure? It seems that this was born out of using alternating series.

Does the same method work for $\pi$ ?

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    You may be interested in the book "Auxiliary Polynomials" recently written by David Masser. This example is the subject of chapter one, and in chapter 8 he talks about irrationality measures. It's very well written and easy to follow. (You do need to fell in the gaps sometimes with your own calculations though.)2018-10-04

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