Navigation Panel:
Go backward to This is Not the Fallacy
Go up to 1=2: A Proof using Complex Numbers
Go forward to This is Not the Fallacy
Switch to graphical version (better pictures & formulas)
Go to University of Toronto Mathematics Network
Home Page
This step is not the source of the fallacy.
This step follows from the previous step
(i (i/2 + 3/(2i)) = i( 1/(2i) + 3/(2i)) ) using the distributivity
of multiplication over addition: a(b+c) = ab + ac.
Distributivity holds for complex multiplication and addition just the
same way as it does for real multiplication and addition; you can
prove this by writing out the definitions of complex multiplication and
addition.
Why don't you go back to the list of steps in the
proof and see if you can identify which one
is wrong, now that you know it isn't this one?
This page last updated: May 26, 1998
Original Web Site Creator / Mathematical Content Developer:
Philip Spencer
Current Network Coordinator and Contact Person:
Joel Chan - mathnet@math.toronto.edu
Navigation Panel: Previous | Up | Forward | Graphical Version | U of T Math Network Home