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From: stevens@teklabs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.math
Subject: does minus one equal one
Message-ID: <2422@teklabs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 12-Sep-83 12:07:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: teklabs.2422
Posted: Mon Sep 12 12:07:07 1983
Date-Received: Wed, 14-Sep-83 22:18:11 EDT
Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
Lines: 17


Two articles proved that -1=1.  One by Steve Summit went like

-1 = sqrt(1)

-1 = 1

I also am not quite sure of what makes this go wrong, but I have observed
that the square root of 1 is also -1.  The other article said something
like sqrt(-1)*sqrt(-1) == -1.  This is true, but I think the conflict in
both cases could probably have been avoided if it was done in complex
numbers. i.e. let
			2*pi*i
		      e         = 1    
etc. etc.
-- 
Steve Silberberg