EML goes through complex numbers and infinities internally.

Previous commenter meant that there are infinite series inside log and exp.

To achieve a thing like sin(x) from his universal expression, yes you'd need infinite series of those, not a finite set of operations, but to get all 36 basic function you'd need a finite set of different infinite series.

So exp and log just happen to be the labels for two element set of such infinite series that you'd have to use to make 36 functions out of the operator that pervious commenter proposed.

All that said, I still think it's pretty neat too.