My math teacher told me this and I don't believe him...
after he told me I just dropped out because I always believed that 1+1=2
2006-10-03 16:32:51 · 10 answers · asked by dooleydragon 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
context is everything
1 + 1 mod 2 = 0
(think of a circular 12 hour clock ... 12 + 12 = 12 is possible on it if you are dealing with hours, start at 12 oclock ...go forward 12 hours ...the clock will read 12 oclock again)
1 + 1 = 2 in the ring of integers (the math we all know and love from early childhood - my 1 candy and the candy i take from my brother gives me 2 candies lol )
also the symbol '+' itself is generally taken to mean 'addition' (that we all know and love) in the typical sense BUT it could be used to represent whatever operation in the problem domain you're dealing with
it's all in the contextual details ...
the teacher is just being a bit of a wanker and trying to confuse you AND make you think :)
'+' could be taken to be XOR in which case 1 + 1 = 0 again
[in logic a xor b is only true if just one of the operands is true not when both are true]
2006-10-03 16:42:34 · answer #1 · answered by xkey 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Consider the infinite sequence of alternating -1 and 1 terms, added together. Write it down twice:
-1 + 1 + -1 + 1 + -1 + 1 + -1 + ... = -1 + 1 + -1 + 1 + -1 + 1 + -1 + 1 + ...
Group terms on both sides:
-1 + (1 + -1) + (1 + -1) + (1 + -1) + ... = (-1 + 1) + (-1 + 1) + (-1 + 1) + (-1 + 1) + ...
Clearly every pair of bracketed terms sums to zero, so:
-1 = 0
Add 1 to both sides:
-1 + 1 = 0 + 1
Hence:
0 = 0 + 1
So if we take 0 = 0 + 1 and substitute in using the same equation--i.e. replace the second 0 in 0 = 0 + 1 with 0 + 1, which we know = 0, we get:
0 = (0 + 1) + 1
Brackets can be removed without changing the value, and the zero does nothing under addition, so
0 = 1 + 1
QED.
2006-10-03 16:47:50 · answer #2 · answered by metavariable 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It works the same way that it was believed that at the end of WWII six million Jews were killed in the holocaust, 4 million of them at Auschwitz. Then after the collapse of the Soviet Union and more open access to the records it was found that on 1.5 million or less died at Auschwitz, but 6 million still died in total.
2006-10-03 16:43:39 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
negative 1 plus a postitive 1 is zero
2006-10-03 16:40:00 · answer #4 · answered by Cyndi s 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
What KIND of Math is he teaching??
IS this 1+ -1 ?
2006-10-03 16:41:42 · answer #5 · answered by motohype 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It can't It won't ever be. and dividing by zero would NOT yield a zero. If not deinterminate, the answer would approach infinity as a limit.
2006-10-03 16:42:21 · answer #6 · answered by Larry L 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a) it can't
b) via a long and involved pseudo-algebraic expression that involves dividing by zero.
2006-10-03 16:40:35 · answer #7 · answered by apolitical 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It can't. You have to divide by zero.
2006-10-03 16:39:43 · answer #8 · answered by Brian L 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
one zero, plus one zero, equals zero!
will that do, i am no mathematician but that's what i came up with.
2006-10-03 16:41:43 · answer #9 · answered by poppy 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
one death plus one death equals zero life
2015-06-06 17:53:25 · answer #10 · answered by A 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋