Apr 302009
Did you ever stop to think that maybe everything we know is wrong? What if we have a flaw in our thinking at such a basic level that we can’t even see it? Where would that leave us?
In that vein, allow me to prove that 2 equals 1:
a = b
a2 = ab
a2 – b2 = ab – b2
(a + b)(a – b) = b(a – b)
a + b = b
2b = b
2 = 1
There you go. Our mathematical system is fundamentally wrong.
Or is it?
Kudos to the first person to explain this simple mathematical proof in a way that anyone can understand…
T. Keith Edmunds
4 Responses to “Fun with math”
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I’ll give it a whirl. I think the problem arises when you state that (a+b)(a-b) = b(a-b)
That’s true as far as it goes, except that a=b, which means that a-b = 0.
So, you’ve got an equation that says (a+b)*0 = b*0 … or zero = zero.
In order to go from (a+b)(a-b) = b(a-b), to the next stage, (a+b) = b, what you’ve done is try to divide by (a-b). However, (a-b) is still zero.
So you end up with (a+b)/0 = b/0
But you can’t divide by zero. If you do, the result, if I recall correctly, approximates infinity.
so instead of 2=1, you end up with infinity = infinity.
Now, can I show you how people have 11 fingers?
No Jokes this was on the a Grade 11 Pre Calc test in Waskada today…this is like deja vu all over again.
Gah! Math first thing in the morning? Have you no soul?
Grant wins!