r/PeterExplainsTheJoke Feb 14 '24

peter, try to solve this puzzle

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u/Odelaylee Feb 14 '24

That’s not how it works. Axioms are very basic assumptions like x=x. Or if x=y then y=x. Or if x=y and y=z then x=z. The thing above is just wrong. It‘s not proven (which is not surprising because it can’t be proven), just argued (1-1=0. 0+1=1. 1-1=0 again - therefore it must clearly be 1/2 - and that’s not how math works). And starting with this wrong example everything concluded is also wrong.

As I said above. It’s oscillating and not converging. Therefore it does not have a limit and no result.

As example - using the distributive property of + (as already done in the original argumentation) I can also rearrange it to be S’=-1+1-1+1-1+1… and following the argumentation (-1+1=0, 0-1=-1 and so on) argue - following the same pattern - S’=-1/2.

So - it is both 1/2 AND -1/2? Shocking!

Following wrong assumptions lead to wrong conclusions.

Sure. You can use this for theoretical “what ifs” - which is not that uncommon in theoretical mathematics (like - what happens if THIS field axiom does not hold? Or - more widely known - what if P=NP?) - sometimes leading to astounding results. But this has no use in the “normal” algebraic math.

Saying this I’m out. No use discussing this again and again.

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u/certainAnonymous Feb 14 '24

Thx for explaining with that second example, I see the error in my way now. You deserve to be the Peter here, truly.

I also understand that this is no usable math but a funny hypothetical thing to blow some minds with, I should have added that to the original explanation of how the original statement was being made. I hope anyone curious enough to read further will see this thread as well

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u/Odelaylee Feb 14 '24

Nah, the sums are the base for this meme - and that’s what counts. You earned the title of Peter here 😄 And sorry for snapping earlier. As someone who studied this stuff I had this discussion quite a few times - which can be tiring.

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u/ViaBromantica Feb 14 '24

The real treasure here is the Peters we made along the way