Posts Tagged ‘Mathematical proof’
November 18th, 2008
by Valentin in Math fun
Did You Know That… 2=1?
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
No, this is not a commercial of any kind (trying to convince you that if you buy 1 you will get 2)! This is just a mathematical proof that 2=1. I remember that my math teacher in high school first showed me this. I was quite impressed! A few days ago I randomly encountered the proof and recalled it. Here it is:
X = Y
X*X = Y*X ; Multiply by X
X*X-Y*Y = Y*X-Y*Y ; Subtract Y*Y from both sides
(X-Y)*(X+Y) = Y*(X-Y) ; Some standard conversions
X+Y = Y ; Cancel out (X-Y)
2*X = X ; Use that X = Y
2 = 1 ; Divide both sides by X
Are you convinced now? ;-)






