Mathematical Fallacies, Flaws and Flimflam (Spectrum) 1st Edition

by Edward J. Barbeau (Author)

1 customer review

ISBN-13: 978-0883855294

ISBN-10: 0883855291

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Through hard experience mathematicians have learned to subject even the most 'evident' assertions to rigorous scrutiny, as intuition and facile reasoning can often be misleading. However, errors can slip past the most watchful eye, they are often subtle and difficult to detect; but when found they can teach us a lot and can present a real challenge to straighten out. This book collects together a mass of such errors, drawn from the work of students, textbooks, and the media, as well as from professional mathematicians themselves. Each of these items is carefully analysed and the source of the error is exposed. All serious students of mathematics will find this book both enlightening and entertaining.

Mathematical Fallacies, Flaws and Flimflam (Spectrum)

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Product Details

Series: Spectrum
Paperback: 167 pages
Publisher: The Mathematical Association of America; 1st edition (January 15, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0883855291
ISBN-13: 978-0883855294
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,348,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18759 in Books > Textbooks > Science & Mathematics > Mathematics
- #36362 in Books > Science & Math > Mathematics

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

Correct solutions arrived at by inappropriate mathematics

By Charles Ashbacher HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on December 8, 2001

Format: Paperback

The creativity of students knows no bounds when it comes to excuses and the methods used to solve problems. While the wait for a collection of classic excuses continues, it is over for a collection of "creative" solutions. Generally, these are problems where a misapplication of mathematics somehow leads to a correct answer. In many cases, the mathematics needed to understand how the solution was arrived at using incorrect methods is more complex than that needed to solve it using "conventional" techniques.
There are times when it is necessary to read the solution several times very carefully before the flaw in the reasoning becomes apparent. Quite frankly, if some of these answers had appeared on my exams, I probably would have marked them as correct. Which only serves to enhance their charm.
The problems are taken from many different areas of mathematics, some of which have attracted a great deal of attention in the past. Classics such as trisecting an arbitrary angle and squaring the circle make their obligatory appearance. Once again proving that no matter how many times and ways something is verified.
there will always be people who believe only what they find convenient to believe. The others are taken from various undergraduate levels; basic algebra to advanced undergraduate mathematics. Of all the areas, those in probability seem to create the most controversy. The one that is rapidly becoming a classic is the "Monty Hall" or "car and goats" problem. The situation is one where a valuable prize is behind one of three doors with much less valuable objects behind the other two. With no knowledge of what is behind them.
you must choose one. Another entity, such as an announcer, knows what is behind each door. Therefore.Read more ›

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