I have created a proof that1=−1 but I know that this is impossible. Could someone help me find the flaw in this proof...
i=√−1
Given
i2=−1
Given
i4=1
Given
i8=1
Given
--------------------------All Common Knowledge Above
i4=i8
Take sqrt of both sides...
i2=i4
Take sqrt of both sides...
i=i2
i=−1
i2=−1 (sub for i)
−1×−1 (sub for i2) = 1
1=−1
Thankyou all for helping me. I looked at the other questions and this question is not a duplicate. However, we all have one common error; we forgot +- when taking the square root of i^4 = i^2
Answer
What people seem to be calling you out for without explanation is that if a2=b2, then we can have that a=±b. We can't know which of b or −b we started with, though.
So when you say that i4=i8, then good. You're on the right track. But your next step needs to be that i2=±i4. You then have no contradiction because one of i4 and −i4 is certainly equal to i2.
I hope this helps you. Always try things like these, even if others call you out for being silly. Before being amazing you have to be a little silly.
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