POV-Ray : Newsgroups : povray.off-topic : 1+2+3+4+... = ? : Re: 1+2+3+4+... = ? Server Time
6 Oct 2024 06:43:20 EDT (-0400)
  Re: 1+2+3+4+... = ?  
From: Warp
Date: 30 Jul 2015 14:59:20
Message: <55ba7408@news.povray.org>
scott <sco### [at] scottcom> wrote:
> >> I'm no mathematician, but to do that you must make the assumption that
> >> there are an even number of terms in the infinite sum (ie every +1 has a
> >> -1 to pair with it). You could have assumed an odd number of terms and
> >> got a sum of 1 instead.
> >
> >> Writing the sum equals 1 minus the sum seems to avoid the need to make
> >> such an assumption.
> >
> > An infinite sum can't have an "odd" or an "even" number of terms.

> Yes that was my point, "grouping" in any way is invalid because you must 
> make assumptions about the total number of terms, which you can't for an 
> infinite list.

I don't think that's how it works. (If it were, then that original "proof"
would be invalid from the get-go, because it's grouping elements and
summing those groups.)

-- 
                                                          - Warp


Post a reply to this message

Copyright 2003-2023 Persistence of Vision Raytracer Pty. Ltd.