Henry Wong wrote:
This is actually a common trick (although not as common as divide by zero). The trick relies on the fact that the square root has a positive *and* negative result -- and basically obfuscates the fact that they are taking the positive number in one case, and the negative number in the other.
Henry
I'm curious...
We seem to see a handful of these "proofs" each year. Does anyone here
still believe there are simple algebraic ways to prove that two unequal constants are equal?
I'll admit that sometimes it's a fun challenge to determine which one is the invalid step in a new "proof". I'm with Arun... this kind of thing may deserve a
or maybe a
, but I certainly don't think it deserves a
, as some have gotten.