More Fallacies, Flaws, and Flimflam

Mistakes in mathematical reasoning, taken from a variety of sources, are exposed and analysed in this entertaining book.

Edward J. Barbeau (Author)

9780883855805, The Mathematical Association of America

Paperback / softback, published 30 December 2013

188 pages
22.8 x 15.3 x 1.3 cm, 0.268 kg

Mistakes in mathematical reasoning can range from outlandish blunders to deep and subtle oversights that evade even the most watchful eye. This book represents the second collection of such errors to be compiled by Edward Barbeau. Like Barbeau's previous book, Mathematical Fallacies, Flaws and Flimflam, material is drawn from a variety of sources including the work of students, textbooks, the media, and even professional mathematicians. The errors presented here serve both to entertain, and to emphasise the need to subject even the most 'obvious' assertions to rigorous scrutiny, as intuition and facile reasoning can often be misleading. Each item is carefully analysed and the source of the error is exposed. All students and teachers of mathematics, from school to university level, will find this book both enlightening and entertaining.

Preface
1. Arithmetic
2. School algebra
3. Geometry
4. Limits, sequences and series
5. Differential calculus
6. Integral calculus
7. Combinatorics
8. Probability and statistics
9. Complex analysis
10. Linear and modern algebra
11. Miscellaneous.

Subject Areas: Miscellaneous items [WZ]