1 = -1?!

[traceur_]

you lost me after "X="

 

[twistedshadows]

My brain has pruned the synapses that travel to most areas dealing with math. My calculus teacher would be so proud of me.

 

[morphyx_69]

The only thing that would make sense is since e^i(pi) = -1 then 1^(pi/x) must also equal -1. The fault is somewhere within the addition of the indices to the equation.

EDIT: never mind the thing was solved before I updated the post.

 

[Vohn_exel]

I've always heard (well I say always but really it was like a news special) that the parts of your brain that handle math, reading, writing, ect., actually grow when you use them frequently. The ones you rarely use at all dwindle. If thats true, then my brain must start out grand and amazing and then shrivel up to a decrepid, gooey number three.

 

[Maze1125]

I do not understand the maths, but there's a simple way to prove it's wrong, known as reducto ad absurdum (I think) or proof by contradiction.

Fact: 1=/=-1 (as can be observed in real life)

The very fact that the answer is incorrect proves the reasoning to be false.

Sorry, but maths doesn't work that way.
Many things have been proved mathematically that seem absurd and seem to contradict reality and in almost every case it's been shown that it was people's perception of reality that was false, not the maths.

Of course, in this case, the result is false due to an abuse of mathematics. But to claim it's wrong, you need to show why it's wrong. "It obviously is!" isn't good enough.

 

[AdmiralWolverineLightningbolt]

dont know if someone;s solved it yet
but isnt it that:
(e^ix)^(n/x) =/= (e^in x/x) and therefore you cant cancel out the xs

 

[ThreeWords]

I do not understand the maths, but there's a simple way to prove it's wrong, known as reducto ad absurdum (I think) or proof by contradiction.

Fact: 1=/=-1 (as can be observed in real life)

The very fact that the answer is incorrect proves the reasoning to be false.

Sorry, but maths doesn't work that way.
Many things have been proved mathematically that seem absurd and seem to contradict reality and in almost every case it's been shown that it was people's perception of reality that was false, not the maths.

Of course, in this case, the result is false due to an abuse of mathematics. But to claim it's wrong, you need to show why it's wrong. "It obviously is!" isn't good enough.

I see your point, and offer you an example of proof by contradiction:

Why zero isn't a real number

1*0=0
2*0=0
Therefore 1*0=0=2*0 or simply 1*0=2*0
Divide by zero: 1=2
Since 1=/=2 then 0 is not a real number

The only reason I say that it can be seen that 1=/=-1 is because I don't know how to express that a number cannot be equal to another, different number, because if they are different, they cannot be equal (unless that is how you say it)

 

[Vohn_exel]

Yeah, thats what I was thinking.

 

[Fairee]

It's wrong because I say so.

Thank you *bows* *Catches roses thrown at him* *Runs before they start with the panties*

I'm sorry, I should've let Max do the derailing.

Run now before Max notices! You'll be next on his list!

 

[Neonbob]

It's wrong because I say so.

Thank you *bows* *Catches roses thrown at him* *Runs before they start with the panties*

I'm sorry, I should've let Max do the derailing.

Run now before Max notices! You'll be next on his list!

But...but being the list is fun! If you're on the list, then everyone knows you, and you get to babble like a completely insane person on several doses of LSD! Plus, he sends assassins after you, and after you kill them, you can...Loot the corpses, loot the corpses! Ah, good times.

 

[Fairee]

It's wrong because I say so.

Thank you *bows* *Catches roses thrown at him* *Runs before they start with the panties*

I'm sorry, I should've let Max do the derailing.

Run now before Max notices! You'll be next on his list!

But...but being the list is fun! If you're on the list, then everyone knows you, and you get to babble like a completely insane person on several doses of LSD! Plus, he sends assassins after you, and after you kill them, you can...Loot the corpses, loot the corpses! Ah, good times.

Aww, now I want to be on the list. Erm, Maxi, mind adding my name? XD

 

[Maze1125]

I do not understand the maths, but there's a simple way to prove it's wrong, known as reducto ad absurdum (I think) or proof by contradiction.

Fact: 1=/=-1 (as can be observed in real life)

The very fact that the answer is incorrect proves the reasoning to be false.

Sorry, but maths doesn't work that way.
Many things have been proved mathematically that seem absurd and seem to contradict reality and in almost every case it's been shown that it was people's perception of reality that was false, not the maths.

Of course, in this case, the result is false due to an abuse of mathematics. But to claim it's wrong, you need to show why it's wrong. "It obviously is!" isn't good enough.

I see your point, and offer you an example of proof by contradiction:

Why zero isn't a real number

1*0=0
2*0=0
Therefore 1*0=0=2*0 or simply 1*0=2*0
Divide by zero: 1=2
Since 1=/=2 then 0 is not a real number

That doesn't make any sense.
That proof is wrong because you misused zero, not because it's not a real number.

The only reason I say that it can be seen that 1=/=-1 is because I don't know how to express that a number cannot be equal to another, different number, because if they are different, they cannot be equal (unless that is how you say it)

Again, maths doesn't work that way.
If two "obviously" different numbers are proven to be equal, then they are equal, no matter how "obviously" they aren't.

 

[AdmiralWolverineLightningbolt]

I do not understand the maths, but there's a simple way to prove it's wrong, known as reducto ad absurdum (I think) or proof by contradiction.

Fact: 1=/=-1 (as can be observed in real life)

The very fact that the answer is incorrect proves the reasoning to be false.

Sorry, but maths doesn't work that way.
Many things have been proved mathematically that seem absurd and seem to contradict reality and in almost every case it's been shown that it was people's perception of reality that was false, not the maths.

Of course, in this case, the result is false due to an abuse of mathematics. But to claim it's wrong, you need to show why it's wrong. "It obviously is!" isn't good enough.

I see your point, and offer you an example of proof by contradiction:

Why zero isn't a real number

1*0=0
2*0=0
Therefore 1*0=0=2*0 or simply 1*0=2*0
Divide by zero: 1=2
Since 1=/=2 then 0 is not a real number

The only reason I say that it can be seen that 1=/=-1 is because I don't know how to express that a number cannot be equal to another, different number, because if they are different, they cannot be equal (unless that is how you say it)

yeah, tthat's the other way of "proving" -1 = 1 actually

-1^2 = 1
1^2 = 1
therefore -1^2 = 1 = 1^2 or -1^2 = 1^2
squareroot both sides and you're left with -1=1

(ill give a cookie if someone correctly explains why this isnt a proof)

 

[Maze1125]

(ill give a cookie if someone correctly explains why this isnt a proof)

Because quadratic equations can have up to two solutions.

 

[AdmiralWolverineLightningbolt]

(ill give a cookie if someone correctly explains why this isnt a proof)

Because quadratic equations can have up to two solutions.

more or less (but it's not a quadratic as such)
the "reason"'s cause a proof has to work both ways and as you say, if yuo square root 1, you get 1 and -1

fine, have your cookie

 

[purplegothchick]

It's equations like this that make me glad I droppped Maths at A Level...

Seconded, I got my maths GCSE and never looked back!